


A Trip Through You

by Heytherebluesky



Category: Naruto, Shikaneji - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dancing, Firstgayinterest, Friends to Lovers, High School, Konoha High School, M/M, Mathematics, Music, Naruto Series, ShikaNeji - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-09-28 12:44:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 41,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17183228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heytherebluesky/pseuds/Heytherebluesky
Summary: Konoha teams share a classroom in High School. Shikamaru and Neji had been classmates for years, but they didn't really notice the other until now. With Konoha senseis as their teachers, they will travel the last years of school, discovering a lot about each other, and experiencing things they had never imagined.





	1. Chapter 1

**Neji’s POV**

 

Walking side by side with his cousins, Neji got closer to the school building. He took a look at the youngest girl, Hanabi, who was extremely anxious for her first day of class. He escorted her to her grade, like he always did when she went to preschool. After waving her goodbye, he looked at his other cousin, Hanabi’s sister, the shy and kind Hinata. She stared back at him, and after a tiny smile, they headed to their own classroom.

They were in the same class, even though Neji was one year older. That was because, after his wife’s death nine years ago, Hinata’s father, his uncle, thought his two daughters needed more contention. And almost at the same time, for a difference of only weeks, Neji’s parents had both died in a car accident. Fortunately he hadn’t been there with them, but he became a lonely orphan of just eight years old. When this happened, he had been taken by his uncle into his house, and the man had devotedly took care of him and tried to make him feel at home. Thinking that it would be good for both of them to have each other's company, the man had made Neji go back one year, so he could be in Hinata's class.

He didn't mind about that. He liked his cousin, and besides, otherwise he wouldn't have met his best friend Tenten. They were very different, but at the same time, had great sintony. They had share a double desk since he arrived to the class for the first time, when the rest of the kids were six. They became friends immediately, though Neji was really shy. Thankfully the little girl definitely wasn't.

The two cousins entered the High School edifice and went directly to their classroom. Neji immediately noticed Tenten sitting over her desk and chating with Lee. Around them were all his classmates, some enthusiastic for the return to class, others definitely not. Sakura and Ino talked cheerfully, while Naruto and Kiba were teasing at each other, as they always did. Shino was silent close to them, same as Sasuke, who never really talked to anyone. Sai had a sketchbook over his legs and was scribbling some drawings. Finally, in the last double bank next to the window, Choji ate a bag of chips with a big smile, while the lax body of his friend Shikamaru lay deep sleep over his desk.

Neji had known all this people for a long time, although he didn’t have much relation with most of them. In exception of Tenten, Lee and his cousin, he wasn't very close to anyone. Not that he minded. He had never really cared for having friends. If Tenten haven’t practically stolk him to become friends with her and Lee, he would’ve never talk to them.

-Sooo, back in the old school. -his friend said, while he sat in his chair next to her. -What’s new?? -

-Nothing out of the ordinary. -he answered. -You?

They chatted until the first teacher arrived. The class started normally, and the rest of the morning went by as usually, with Naruto interrupting at any moment with silly jokes, Sakura responding to all the questions with great enthusiasm, and Shikamaru still unconscious in his seat. With the passing of the hours, it seemed like it was going to be a standard year. Or at least that’s what he thought that first day.

 

***          *         ***

 

After classes were finished, Neji didn’t go home immediately. Passed the last ring of the bell, the extracurricular activities began. That was when the sport teams went to practice and the different clubs had their meetings. The students that were yet in school were mostly in the football camp, where they trained, or in several classrooms, where they would start with their year calendar. Neji had walked into a particular rehearsal room that was pretty far away from the main building, near the basketball court and the showers. He liked that one specially because it had an enormous mirror all along one of its walls, besides from a stereo where he could connect his cellphone and play music. It was designed for those who studied dance and theater, so they could practice in a suitable space. Neji had checked the schedules of each activity, so he knew when it was free for him to use it. He liked to be alone and quiet, to be able to get a better concentration.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he put his hands and legs in first position, and repeated the _plié_. He had put his uniform in his backpack and replaced it with a black short and a long and loose white shirt, and he had picked up his hair with a clip so it wouldn't bother him. He had been waiting to return to school during all vacations only to have a comfortable place to rehearse his dance techniques. Since he was only four years old, he had practiced ballet. His mother had been a ballerina when she was young, and she liked teaching his little son what she knew. At seeing that he had actually very good conditions for it, and that he also enjoyed learning, she had decided to send him to an academy, were he had gotten better and better with every lesson. After his parents died in that terrible accident, he didn’t abandoned it. Working with his body relaxed him, and the great discipline needed in ballet helped him distract his mind, by concentrating only in performing the figures to perfection. Besides, it made him remind of his mother, who he always missed. With the passing of years, he had participated in almost every school sport with amazing results, because he was very athletic. But he had never spent more than two or three semesters in each team. Dancing was the only activity he had never dropped. And he had extended his reach to other genders, besides from ballet. Every new rhythm that seemed interesting for him, he tried it. But classic dance was his pillar. He just felt secure performing every precise move.

He had been there for almost sixty minutes, repeating his usual routine in silence. He was determined to stay for another hour, and maybe then practice with some music. He looked at his rotated feet, making sure that they were in the exact right place, and did the _plié_ once more. But suddenly, an unexpected voice that came from behind him made him lose his concentration.

-That looks painful. -it said.

Neji startled, but miraculously kept his balance. He lifted his head and looked into the mirror, to find that at his back, the slacky figure of a young boy had appeared. He immediately recognized him: the loose posture, the high ponytail and the sleepy expression, couldn't belong to anyone else. Shikamaru Nara was boderly staring at him, while he supported himself in the doorframe, with his hands in his pockets. Even though he used the same uniform as the rest of their classmates, he always looked a little different. Maybe it was because of his clear disheveled appearance: his pants were a few numbers larger than they should be, so they were wider than the reglementary size. His white shirt was half outside his belt, and unbuttoned until below his collarbone. The knot of his dark red tie was low and sloppy. The Hyuuga met his black eyes on the reflection.

Despite the fact that they had attended to the same class for years, they had never shared much. He couldn't actually remember the last time they had exchanged words. It was weird that the Nara had stopped there to talk to him, having no obligation to do it. Neji realized he had took too much time to answer, and finally straightened and responded to the mirror:

-Is not.

The lazy boy just rose an eyebrow, showing that he didn't find that credible, so the Hyuuga added:

-Once you get used to it. -Seeing that the boy didn't go away, he turned around to face him. -What are you still doing in school?

-I just came out of Chess club. -the Nara answered lazily.

Neji thought for a few seconds.

-There's a Chess club? -he asked, not knowing what to say.

Shikamaru shrugged.

-Well, you can barely call it a club. -he explained, not moving from the doorframe. -It's just profesor Asuma and me. Guess he expected to have more interested students.

-He must be disappointed. -was Neji’s retort.

-He doesn’t lose hope. -the boy said. -Didn’t know you danced.

He didn’t know what to answer to that, so he simply shrugged a little.

-I do. -he replied.

Shikamaru took a look around the room with no much interest, and asked him:

-You practice many sports, don’t you?

-Not so many… -Neji hesitated shily.

-Really? -the Nara went on. -Weren't you in the swimming team, the athletics team, the fencing team, the ...?

-Yes. -the Hyuuga interrupted him. -How do you know all that?

The slacky boy shrugged once more.

-It's not a secret. -he simply said.

-Right. -Neji agreed. -I will probably do only dance this time. This year subjects are very demanding.

He just threw that in order to add something. He had yet no idea of what the boy was doing there.

-If you say so. -the Nara told him boredly. -Well, I'll get going. Good luck with your dancing.

After this, he separated himself from the door frame and disappeared behind the wall. Neji looked at the place where he had been seconds ago for some brief moments, thinking that that had been a very unexpected conversation. Finally, he turned to the mirror again and continued with his practice.

  


***          *         ***

  


At the next day, he repeated the same routine: he got off the bus with his cousins, escorted little Hanabi to her grade, and then walked with Hinata to their classroom. Inside, his companions chatted and waited for the teacher like the previous day, except for certain Nara, who was already slept over his desk. The first professor arrived, and the class started normally.

-All right, kids. -teacher Tsunade said. She dictated Anatomy, and her explanations were very good, though she was a bit tough. -Today we will start with muscles. Open your books in... Mr. Nara! You had the whole holidays to sleep! Would you please pay attention?

Neji didn't turned around, but he heard the drowsy voice of Shikamaru mumbling something like “I wasn't sleeping”, although he obviously was. Some of their classmates laughed, and the class continued.

The morning went by without inconveniences. At lunch, Neji sat in the cafeteria with Tenten and Lee, as he always did. But he found himself watching at Shikamaru from his seat. The boy was eating with his friends Shino, Kiba, Naruto and Choji a few tables away from where he was. The Hyuuga studied his permanently bored face, wondering why he always looked so drowsy. He was actually surprised that the guy hadn't repeated a year, because he spent most part of all classes sleeping over his desk. He wondered how could he pass the exams if he never payed attention nor participated. Neji was a good student, but only because he studied hard. It was needed constancy to be updated with homework, and he asked himself how the Nara could managed it with so little effort. The teachers were all the time scolding him and sending him to detention for being sleeping, but apparently he did enough to not be reproved.

Neji shook his head to dissipate those thoughts away, and concentrated in his friends conversation.

After afternoon classes, he would've wanted to practiced his ballet positions again, but they already had math homework, so he decided to go back to his house. He had made a quick stop in the bathrooms, and was washing his hands when three people entered.

-Hey, Hyuuga. How have your vacations been?

The person that had asked that question was Nikko Hashimoto, a junior boy from a higher grade. He was the captain of the hokey team, and though he wasn't very bright -he had actually repeated a year-, he was among the most popular kids in school. In part because he was tall and blond and strong. But mostly, because he was an asshole. He didn't cared that Neji was just a sophomore, he didn't mind messing with every person that wasn't in his select group of friends. He had two gorillas that followed him wherever he went, and celebrated all his evil pranks. He was the classic high school bolly. Neji knew he was there to harass him like always.

-As if you cared. -the Hyuuga answered, keeping his hands under the water stream.

He sensed the three hughe boys surrounding him, but he didn't flinched.

-That's not the proper way to address your elders, Hyuuga. -Nikko said with malice.

Neji rolled his eyes, not willing to be intimidated.

-You are one year older than me, Hashimoto. -he just replied.

-Right. -the blond agreed. -I had forgotten that you went back a year when your parents died. Poor little Hyuuga.

He decided that the best thing to do was getting away from them immediately, so he turned around and faced the three guys.

-I don't need your pity. -he said firmly. -Now, please move, I have to go.

He tried to walk between them, but Nikko put a hand on his chest and push him back. Neji hit the lavatory, and an intense pain spread through his back.

-I didn't say you could go. -the big bully spat.

One of his sidekicks took the Hyuuga's backpack and tore it off his shoulders. He tried to get it back, but was pushed again with more force. They didn't find anything of value among his things, so they threw the backpack aside and got closer to him with a threatening look.

-Empty your pockets, Hyuuga. -Nikko ordered. -Let's see what you have.

But Neji didn't do it. He just held his stare and tightened his lips.

-Big mistake. -the gigant said, and strongly grabbed him from his wrist.

Neji felt fear, and sensed his breathing starting to accelerate. He could already see himself with his head immersed in one of the toilets. Being one against three, he had no way out of there.

But luckily, a sudden interruption saved him.

-You shouldn't do that. -a dragged voice sounded at the door.

The four boys turned their heads, and saw Shikamaru standing in the entrance, with his hands in his pockets and his eternal dull expression.

-Why not? -Nikko asked, fulminating the Nara with his eyes. -Are you gonna stop us?

The lazy boy exhaled air from his nose in a slacky laugh.

-As if I could. -he answered. -But professor Morino is just coming down the hall. He will be glad to have an excuse to suspend anyone.

The older boys shared a concerned look. Ibiki Morino was the most strict of all the professors, and he loved giving punishments to naughty students. Nobody dared to cross him.

Finally, Nikko let go Neji's wrist, no without throwing a last threat to him between his teeth:

-You were lucky today. But we'll see you soon.

After that, the gang leaved the bathroom. Shikamaru earned a push when they passed next to him, but he didn't react at all. When he saw they were gone, he approached to Neji, who was now breathing with great difficulty.

-Are you okay? -the Nara asked, stopping a few steps away.

Neji nodded, but he was panting hard. The anxiety had took all the air from off his lungs. He felt himself panicking and closed his eyes, rising a hand to his chest.

-Hyuuga? -Shikamaru called him with concern, but he couldn't answer. -Neji!

He perceived the Nara getting closer to him, and tried to opened his eyes.

-I'm... fine... -he said, almost choking.

-Are you kidding me? -Shikamaru questioned, pretty alarmed. -You're not breathing!

-I just need... -the Hyuuga tried to speak, but finally just pointed to his backpack, which was still lying on the floor.

The Nara looked at it and went to grab it. Then he looked at Neji, specting that he would tell him what to do.

-Left... pocket... -the older boy managed to utter.

Shikamaru opened the zipper and pull out what was inside. It was an inhalator. Obviously understanding the situation, the hastened to give it to Neji.

The Hyuuga took it and quickly put it in his mouth, pressing it and letting the medicine help him regain his composure. They stood in silence for a minute, while he calmed down.

-Are you all right? -the Nara asked again.

-Yes. -Neji answered. -Thank you.

He could feel the other boy’s eyes studying him.

-Didn't knew you were asthmatic. -he said.

The Hyuuga finally rose his stare and looked at him.

-It only happens when I get nervous. -he replied. -Where's professor Morino?

-That was a lie. -the Nara told him. -He wasn't even near.

-Oh. -he Hyuuga responded, realizing that his classmate had just got him out of a bad situation with a simple trick. -Thank you for that.

-It's okay. But maybe you should go to the infirmary.

Neji shook his head and straightened, showing that he was all right.

-That's not necessary. I'm fine. -he affirmed.

Shikamaru just stared at him for a little longer. Then, he commented:

-If you only get like this when you are nervous, then you're not asthmatic.

-What? -the Hyuuga asked, not understanding.

-I mean, it's psychological. -the Nara explained himself. -Were you born with asthma?

Neji was surprised of how fast the boy had figured out his condition.

-No. -he confessed. -It started after my parents died.

-There you go, then. -Shikamaru said putting his hands in his pockets, but still watching him carefully.

-Yes, well, anyway... -the Hyuuga replied. -Thank you again. But I must go already.

The Nara nodded.

-Sure. I'll walk you out. -he affirmed, and they both started heading to the door.

-You don't have to do that. -Neji assured him.

-It's fine. -Shikamaru told him. -I was leaving too.

They walked until they got to the sidewalk and stopped.

-I better take the bus quickly. -the Hyuuga said. -I must start with the math homework.

-Riiiight, the homework. -the younger boy answered lazily.

Neji stared at him, noticing that he didn't seem willing to do it.

-Are you not doing it? -he asked.

Shikamaru scratched his head.

-I don't know... Maybe. -he replied.

The Hyuuga looked at him surprised.

-How is that you never do any homework? -he questioned him.

The boy shrugged.

-It's a drag. -he said. -We spend almost the whole day in school. They can't expect that we keep working at home. That's torture.

Neji smiled a little at that.

-Are you not exaggerating a little? You don't work too hard in class, after all.

-Hey, it's already a big effort to come every morning. -the boy defended himself, and gave the Hyuuga an innocent grin.

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments. He didn't like to be helped much, and he hated looking week in front of others. But for some reason, he was grateful that it had been Shikamaru and not another person who had seen him like that. He felt like the boy would keep the secret.

-Well, I let you go do your beloved homework. -the younger guy finally said, starting to walk away. -See you tomorrow, Hyuuga.

-See you tomorrow, Nara. -Neji answered, and headed to the bus stop.

 

***          *         ***

 

Once again, when he arrived to school at the next early morning, Shikamaru was already completely unconscious over his desk. Neji had to repress an amused smile at seeing him. For some reason, during the whole night he kept remembering the brief conversations he had had with the Nara recently. He forced himself to concentrate on his homework, and that distracted him for a little while. But just momentarily. He only stopped thinking when he fall asleep. But in the exact moment he opened his eyes again, everything came back to his mind.

He didn't know why that was happening to him, and tried as hard as he could to not drive conclusions. He thanked Shikamaru was sleeping, because at least it assured him he wouldn't have to interact with him.

Everything went just normally. He worked with Tenten in the teachers activities and they finished all the day assignments, as usual. When lunch time came, he had already successfully dissipated all those weird thoughts. Although he caught a glance of the Nara eating with his friends not far away, he was able to ignore it and behaved as he always did.

That day he was decided to rehearsal his steps again. After spending all holidays practicing in his tiny room, he was eager for some space. So when the classes finished, he went directly to the big saloon.

He took his uniform off, after checking that nobody was near, and put on his black short and his large white t-shirt. He let his shoes next to his backpack, but kept his socks on. Finally, he tied his hair in a high ponytail that hung down his back, and started stretching.

When he considered he was ready to go, he placed himself in front of the mirror and put his arms and feet in the preparatory position. Then he switched to first, and then to second, and then to third, and he went on, repeating the sequence again and again.

It hadn't passed five minutes, when a sleepy voice sounded at his back.

-Hey.

Shikamaru was standing in the doorframe again with his hands in his pockets. Though he wasn't leaning against it this time. He was looking directly into Neji's reflection with a barely there smile. The Hyuuga turned around to stared at the real boy.

-Hi. -he greeted back.

-Practicing again? -the Nara asked lightly.

Wasn't that obvious?, he thought.

-Yes. -he answered. Judging by the hour, Shikamaru should be attending to a extracurricular activity, or go home. There was no other reason to stay in school. -Are you going to Chess club?

-Not today. -the taller kid replied. -Actually I'm escaping from Ino. She's looking for me to drag me to go shopping. And I really don't want to. -he made a few steps inside the large room. -Do you mind if I hide here for a while? I won't bother you.

Neji widened his eyes, definitely not prepared for that question. But he couldn't find a reasonable negative. So he shrugged a little and just responded:

-Sure.

-Great. -the Nara exclaimed with a half smile, and walked to a pile of sport mattresses. He threw his backpack to the floor and sat there, putting one arm behind his head and leaning his back against the wall. -Don't get distracted by me, I'm not here.

The Hyuuga was surprised and confused. No one never saw him practice, besides from other students at the academy. But there was really nothing weird in it. So he decided to no make a big deal about it, and turned to the mirror again to repeated his steps.

He did the sequence many times again, adding more movements. He was trying not to look at Shikamaru, but at one particular moment his eyes just flew to the boy, and were surprised to find big concentration. The Nara wasn't missing one single step. He was putin all his attention in every detail: Neji's feet, Neji's knees, Neji's arms, Neji's hands. His expression was serious and calmed.

The Hyuuga kept following the younger boy’s eyes watching him in the mirror for about fifteen minutes. He didn't seemed aware of Neji's stare. But suddenly, he broke the silence.

-What is that? -he asked, looking bored and curious simultaneously.

The Hyuga stopped and rose his eyebrows.

-What? -he questioned.

-That thing you do with your feet, when put them like this. -Shikamaru said, joining his arms as if they were legs to explain himself. -Does it have a name?

Neji thought for a moment. Then, he accommodated his feet.

-This? -he asked.

-Yeah. -the Nara responded. -It's bizarre.

The Hyuuga couldn't help to let out a little laugh at that comment.

-I guess. -he answered. -It's called fifth position.

Shikamaru frowned and titled his head.

-“Fifth?” -he repeated.

Neji smiled.

-Yes. -he explained. -In ballet you have first, second, third, fourth and fifth position.

The Nara widened his eyes.

-Ballet has numbers? -he interrogated, incredulous.

The Hyuuga laughed once more.

-Yes. Every movement in ballet is made from a combination between the arms and feet of each positions and others steps.

The lazy boy rose his eyes to the ceiling, meditating the answer.

-So you are telling me -he started. -that ballet is some kind of numerical constant with many variables?

Neji thought about that for a second. It was a strange, but not wrong way of seeing it.

-Something like that. -he agreed.

Shikamaru immediately stood up and started walking towards him.

-It suddenly got interesting. -he said smiling. He stopped just a few steps away from the Hyuuga and looked at him. -How does it goes?

Neji stared at him in complete surprise, and he couldn’t help but to smile a little too.

-Why? -he asked amused. -Do you want to learn how to dance?

The Nara let out an exhalation through his nose in a lazy laugh.

-Absolutely not. -he answered, putting his hands in his pockets. -But I like knowing things that most people don’t. And the numbers in ballet sounds like a very specific and uncommon knowledge.

The Hyuuga narrowed his eyes, suspicious. At realizing he was doubting, the younger boy insisted:

-C’mon, I want to know. Please share your wisdom with me. -he begged with an expression than Neji thought was kind of cute.

The Hyuuga laughed softly at his request, and finally decided to accept.

-Okay. -he said. -Pay attention. -He placed his feet and arms in the correct posture, and explained: -This is first position. -Then, he changed to the next one. -This is second position…

And like that, he showed Shikamaru the five figures. The boy was following every movement with great focus, as if he was memorizing them. Neji didn’t understand how could he be so curious about anything regarding dancing, but it was nice to have someone interested in something he liked so much.

When he finished the explanation, the Nara suported his weight in one of his legs, and questioned:

-And how do you combine that to form something?

-Well, you can take just any ballet figure, like this one, for example. -He put one leg behind the other, considerably separated, and rose his arms. -This is the second _arabesque_. You do it with your feet in fourth position and your arms in third, and then you just lift your leg a little.

With great delicacy and control, he took off his back foot from the floor and maintained his balance. Shikamaru observed him with attention.

-” _Arabesque_ ”? -he questioned.

Neji lowered his feet again.

-Yes. The names of ballet movements are in french. -he explained.

-So ballet is french? -the Nara kept interrogating.

-I believe it’s italian, but was professionalized in France. -he added.

-I see. And they invented it stealing from the Arabs. -Shikamaru affirmed.

That he didn’t expected.

-What? -the Hyuuga asked. -Why do you think that?

The younger boy shrugged.

-Well, “ _arabesque_ ” literally means “in an arabic way”. And it really looks pretty arabic. -he clarified.

Neji couldn’t hide that he was a little stunned.

-You speak french? -he wanted to know.

-Just a little. -the Nara answered. -Show me another.

He seemed really interested, so Neji happily conceded. He spent the next hour naming and performing different moves of ballet, with the other boy standing near him, watching and commenting almost everything that passed throug his head.

-It’s so strange. -he said in one moment. -Do you necessarily have to tollatly twist your legs like that? Sometimes it looks like you’re gonna dislocate a bone or something.

The Hyuuga laughed openly. He had to admit he was having fun.

-You mean this? -he asked, stretching on leg forward and rotating it without moving the rest of his body.

-Yeah, that... -Shikamaru confirmed with an expression of pain.

Neji chuckled, and explained:

-It's called rotation. It's fundamental in ballet. It's supposed to allow a grater extension of the legs.

The younger boy studied the Hyuugas leg for long seconds, and he realized he didn't mind it at all. He felt, somehow, comfortable.

He didn't interrupted Shikamaru's stare, and waited patiently. Finally, the Nara nodded slowly, and smiled.

-Interesting. -he said.

Time went by unnoticed. The conversation was light and pleasant. He was about to show his viewer another step when the fierce face of Ino appeared at the door.

-Finally! -she screamed, walking with determination to them. -You sneaky bastard! You knew I would never look for you in here. Your hide and seek took me almost two hours!

Shikamaru sank his head between his shoulders.

-I wasn't hiding. -he excused himself. -I was just here. Didn't know you were looking for me.

The girl stopped a few inches away from him and retorted, clearly annoyed:

-You have to help me find the right outfit for my date, rebember? -then she made a sad face. -It’s very very important!

The Nara lowered his shoulders and whined.

-But what can I possibly say about girls clothes? -he asked. -Use something of what you already have.

Apparently that was inadmissible for Ino.

-Impossible. Now move your ass. -she ordered. -Or the mall will close. Bye Neji! -she added with a smile, and turned to left the room with great decision. -Let's go!

Shikamaru watched her go for a moment, defeated and deflated. There was absolutely no whiling of following her in him. But he must had no choice, because he looked at Neji, and shrugged.

-Well, I can't escape anymore. I'll have to go. -he said.

The Hyuuga had witnessed the whole scene in silence, and he gave the Nara a pitty smile.

-I'm sorry. -he told him compassionately for having to bear with Ino's shopping.

The taller boy clicked his tongue.

-It's okay. At least I delayed it a little. -he answered, and then slowly started to turned around. -I guess I'll see you tomorrow.

-Right. Goodbye, Nara. -Neji said.

Suddenly, their eyes connected in a strange and unknown way. It only lasted a few seconds, but the sensation that it caused on the Hyuuga's chest made him a little dizzy. It was like a brief, shared thought. Like a simultaneous awareness of each other. Shikamaru smiled softly with a completely unconscious seduction that shocked Neji without  warning.

-Goodbye, Hyuuga. -the younger boy murmured, before breaking their stare and leave the room with his usual lazy step.

  


***          *         ***

  


When he entered to the classroom with his cousin the next day, Shikamaru wasn’t sleeping. He was laying back in his chair with his legs over the desk, listening to Kiba talk to him with a very tired expression, but not asleep. When Neji approached his seat, the Nara met his eyes from the bottom of the room. Acting normally, the Hyuuga diverted his stare and turned to sit on his place.

The truth was that he had been remembering Shikamaru's soft and relaxed laugh all night. The boy's twisted smile wouldn't leave his mind. And the strange way his black eyes had nailed on Neji's ones still gave him chills.

This thoughts had him confused and a little alarmed. But when he remembered how he had felt when they were talking about ballet in the rehearsal room, so comfortable and at ease, he relaxed. He was just not used to opened himself to people out of his circle of trust.

He convinced himself of being overreacting. After all, they had only had a couple of conversations, and there was nothing strange in that. The guy was simply friendlier than he expected. He was probably just being nice at asking him about his dancing, because it was very hard for Neji to believe that he was actually interested.

But to his surprise, during the next week, Shikamaru returned to the rehearsal room once more. Most of the time he had just laid in the pile of sport mattress, watching the Hyuuga practice. But sometimes, he asked a question about what he was seeing. Apparently he couldn't contain his curiosity.

Neji was amazed about how he felt in those moments: it didn't bother him at all, and the company was nice. He used to spend a lot of time by himself, and that was a fine change.

He even felt a little disappointed when, on the friday of the second week of classes, the Nara didn't showed up. For some reason, he was expecting to see him one last time before the weekend. At noticing that he wasn't arriving, he kept practicing until the school closed. When the janitor came to tell him that it was time to leave, he took his backpack and left the building.

It was passed seven, so he had lost the last bus to his house. He lived about 20 blocks away, so he decided to started walking, though he wasn't going to get home before night. He took the path that surrounded the river, because he found pleasant to watch the waters. When the sun begun to hide, the first stars appeared. Neji was enjoying the warm wind moving his ponytail as he walked, when a figure standing behind the coast railing made him stop.

Despite the faint light, he recognized it immediately: Shikamaru was staring at the almost completely dark sky with his hands in his pockets, and he hadn't noticed him yet. The Hyuuga thought for a moment: he could easily cross the street and avoid him, but just saying hi wasn't going to hurt anyone. Finally, he crossed the distance between them and stopped a few steps behind the Nara.

-Hi. -he greeted.

The boy looked over his shoulder, but when he saw Neji he turned around completely and smiled faintly.

-Hey. -he saluted back.

They stared at each other for brief seconds, and then the Hyuuga got closer to stand next to him.

-What are you doing? -he asked.

Shikamaru turned again, so they were now both facing the river.

-Nothing, really. -he answered. -Sometimes I just come here and watch the sky. There's less light than in other places, so the stars look pretty good.

Neji looked at the river flowing in front of them.

-Yes, it's nice here. -he agreed. -I come sometimes too, when I want to be alone. It's soothing.

Shikamaru nooded, but he seemed to meditate those last words, because he questioned:

-You like solitude, hum?

The Hyuuga hesitated for a moment.

-I do. -he admitted. -But it's not like I have many friends anyway, besides Lee and Tenten.

-I don't know why is that. -the taller boy said.

-Well, most people don't like me much. -he continued. -Maybe because I'm not very friendly.

Shikamaru titled his head back.

-That's not true. -he affirmed.

The Hyuuga just gave him a look that showed that it was, and the other boy shrugged before responding:

-I like you.

Neji widened his eyes at hearing that.

-You do? -he asked.

The Nara smiled and rose an eyebrow at his evident surprise.

-Sure. Why wouldn't I?

-I don’t know. -he answered. -We had never talk much before.

Shikamaru leaned against the railing.

-Yeah, well. -he replied. -I'm not very good at socializing. Human relations are a mystery to me.

The Hyuuga let out a light laugh, and looked at the night sky.

-I have the same problem. -he said.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, and it was pleasant. But suddenly, he realized that the younger boy had his eyes nailed on his. He turned his head slowly.

-What? -he asked.

Shikamaru startled a little, but kept his relaxed expression.

-What what? -he questioned.

-You are staring at me. -Neji answered.

Apparently the Nara didn't expected that, but he didn't diverted his eyes. He just made a twisted smile and said:

-I'm sorry. It's just that, your eyes...

The Hyuuga frowned, not understanding.

-What about them?

Shikamaru kept watching him for a little longer.

-Well... they're full of stars, and cosmic dust. -he finally responded.

-What?? -Neji asked, amused.

The Nara shook his head.

-I mean, they're reflecting the stars… And they’re kind of,... cloudy or something, -he tried to explain himself, with a hint of embarrassment, but and then studied him again. -They look like globular clusters.

That was a weird thing to say, but he was curious about the reference, so he interrogated:

-What are globular clusters?

-They are very massive cumulus of stars that orbit a galactic center, and are held together by gravity. -the boy clarified. -Like this. -Then he took his cell phone out of his pocket and showed it to Neji. His wallpaper was a bright, colorful, dusty starry sky. -This is your eyes right now.

The Hyuuga smiled at the image. If that was a compliment, it was very nice, and original.

-That's pretty. -he commented.

Shikamaru smiled back and nodded, putting his cellphone in his pocket again.

-Anyway, -he finally said. -What were you doing here?

-I was just returning home. -Neji answered. -And I should get going. It's getting late and I still have several blocks to go.

-I can take you, if you want. -the Nara offered.

The older boy stared at him, confused.

-In what? -he asked.

Shikamaru exhaled a relaxed laugh, and pulled a set of keys from his pocket.

-In a car, genius. -he said, as he turned the alarm of a near vehicule off and started walking towards it.

-You drive? -the Hyuuga questioned. -But you don't have the legal age for that yet.

-I know. -the boy answered, opening the car's door. -But my mom got me a special permission to do it. I have to be able to drive, in case my dad needs a ride.

Neji thought it was odd that an adult would need to be transported around.

-He doesn't drive? -he questioned, approaching to the car.

-Nop. -was Shikamaru's simple replied. -Jump in. -he added, while he sat behind the steering wheel.

The Hyuuga got in the passenger seat, and let the younger boy took him home, indicating him the correct path.

When they got to his house entrance, a big iron gate opened automatically, and Neji told his classmate to go forward. They crossed the enormous garden until a majestic house appeared in front of them.

-Holy shit! -the Nara exclaimed. -This is where you live?

The Hyuuga nodded slowly.

-Yes. My uncle has a very important publishing house. -he explained. -He's pretty wealthy.

Amazed, Shikamaru kept driving and stopped before the house's big door. Neji got off the car, and was about to say goodbye when his uncle voice sounded behind him.

-I was starting to get worried. -the man said, standing in the doorframe.

-I'm sorry, uncle. -the boy excused himself. -I lost the bus. But a classmate brought me.

At seeing the older man, the Nara got off the car too and inclined his head to him.

-Good night, sir. -he saluted respectfully.

Hiashi made a few steps outside the house.

-Hello. -he responded kindly. -Thank you for bringing my nephew home.

-Yes. Thank you, Shikamaru. -Neji agreed, realizing that it was the first time he called the boy by his name.

The Nara waved a hand at him.

-No problem. -he answered. -I better go home now. My mother must be wondering where I am too. I'll see you tomorrow. -he said looking at Neji, and then turned his face to his uncle. -Good night, sir.

Then he got in the car again and drove away.

The younger Hyuuga turned to look at his uncle, who simply smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder, while they both entered the house.

  
  


**Hi everyone! Welcome to my new story!**

**I don't know if you'll like it, but I do, and I wanted to share it with you. I know I haven't finished the other one, I'm sorry! I will not abandon it, but I've had the images of this fic in my head for a while and I needed to take them out.**

**You'll find many similarities to my other fic. Like that Shikamaru is a complete genius, that he likes Astronomy and so. I just can't help it, because that's the way I see him in my mind. Actually, I just realized there's a very similar scene to one in my other fic regarding Neji's eyes. I'm sorry for that, but it's already written O.o So this is basically a story about the same characters in another scenario, with just little differences.**

**Also, there will probably be some music too. I'll try to do longer chapters to make the plot more fluid.**

**Hope you enjoy the first two chapters, and let me know if you have any critique!**

**See you!**

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

During the weekend, Neji found himself thinking about Shikamaru in many occasions. Specially, in his honest and calmed face when he pronounced the words “I like you”. That short and sincere sentence kept making a strange tingle spread through his body. Just like in the moment when he had originally heard it.

When Monday arrived and he entered the classroom with his cousin, he was glad to find the Nara asleep. He wasn’t sure of how he would feel when their eyes met again, and he didn’t wanted to find out either.

Literature passed quickly, and then came Math. The Hyuuga already had his homework ready over his desk when the teacher arrived.

She was a woman of about sixty years old, very serious and a little moody. After greeting them, she started going through all the desks, seeing each student homework. Neji’s and Tenten’s were perfect, so after checking their results, she kept going forward. The two friends heard her getting annoyed at reaching the bottom of the classroom.

-Where is your homework, Mr. Nara? -the teacher asked.

-I didn’t do it, Mrs. Takenaka. -the lazy boy answered. -But I’ll do it right now in a second.

-Yes, of course. -the woman answered with sarcasm. -Now that all your classmates had already done it you’ll find it pretty easy. You’ll just copy from Mr. Akimichi. I’m not dumb.

-With all respect, ma’am, I wouldn’t copy from Choji. I doubt his exercises are completely right. No offense, buddy. -the Nara added, unworried.

His big friend smiled at him, showing that he hadn’t take it in a wrong way, because it was true.

-Don’t act smart with me. -Mrs. Takenaka scolded him. -The school year has just begun and you are already being irresponsible. I’m not receiving your homework, and I will give you a wakeup call.

-Whaaat? -Shikamaru complained. -But is the third week of classes. Can’t you save it to next month, at least?

Neji turned around in his seat and caught a glance of the professor’s face getting more irritated.

-You are irremediable. -she told him. -And you will not only have to do more than the rest of your classmates today, but you will also have to solve an exercise on the board. A new one. So you can show us all why you don’t need to do your homework.

The Nara whined once more.

-But that’s really unfair! -he said. -No one else has to do that.

-Because they did what I asked. -the woman replied sharply, as she went back to her desk and sat in her chair. Then she took her Math book, opened it and searched for an exercise. She stopped and pointed to the paper. -This one. Copy it in the board and do it.

Shikamaru exchanged a defeated look with Choji, but finally stood up and walked to the board, dragging his feet. He took a look at the open book over the teacher's desk, and then grabbed a piece of chalk. With cero energy, he started copying the problem in the dark green surface, even though he had seen it just one time. When he finished, he stared at the numbers in front of him, scratched the back of his head lazily and yawned, before starting to solve the exercise.

But the teacher stopped him seconds after.

-Are you not forgetting something? -she asked him.

The Nara frowned with confusion, and replied:

-What?

The woman looked at him as if he was the most dumb boy in the world.

-Your calculator. -she said.

-Oh... -he started answering.-I left it at home.

-“Oh”. -Mrs.Takenaka imitated him. -So you don’t even bring the class material. You have earned your first day in detention of the year. -she added, writing a note.

Shikamaru extended his arms at his sides at hearing this, but then he simply let them fall again and rolled his eyes, resigned.

-You can use mine. -said Hinata, who was sitting in the first bank and was kindly reaching her calculator for him.

He gave her a tiny smile, but rejected the offer with his hand.

-It’s okay, thank you. -he told her, and turned around to start with the problem.

To Neji’s surprise, he seemed to know what he was doing. He didn’t had the result of that problem, so he needed to do it himself with his calculator to know the final answer, but though he ignored if the numbers were right, Shikamaru didn’t doubt at writing any of them. He did it slowly but secure, sliding the chak over the board with a bored face. After a short minute he had finished. He put the chalk down and started cleaning his dusty hand in his uniform pants.

Mrs. Takenaka stretched her neck to see what he had done, and then grabbed her book to compare the result with the one at the end of her teacher's copy. She looked at the page and at the board several times, and widened her eyes, stunned. A few seconds passed by, in which Shikamaru just waited there with a dull expression.

-How did you do it? -the woman finally asked, frowning.

The Nara boy shrugged and answered:

-It's just math.

A few moments of silence followed that. The teacher didn’t looked convinced.

-Can I sit now? -Shikamaru questioned.

The woman simply nodded with an annoyed face, and the boy went back to his seat with his hands in his pockets. The class continued as normal.

After lunch, they had a couple of subjects, and then they were free to go. Once more, Neji walked to the rehearsal room, tied his hair in a high ponytail, and changed his clothes to practice. This time he wanted to dance. To really dance. So he stretched for a few minutes, and then connected his cellphone to the little stereo. He selected a song, and then walked to the center of the room, facing the mirror. Feeling the music traveling through his body, he performanced a beautiful choreography he had learned in the academy. The way every single movement relaxed him and made him forget anything else was what he liked the most. The world disappeared when he let himself be carried away by the melody. He enjoyed each step and motion sequence.

He was completely immerse in an energetic twist, when from the corner of his eye he caught the silhouette of a figure. He focused on it and realized it was Shikamaru. The boy was just standing in the door with his hands in his pockets again, and met Neji’s stare in the mirror.

The Hyuuga didn’t stop. He kept dancing, helding the boy’s eyes at first, but then just letting himself be watched. He could feel Shikamaru observing every move, and his skin bristled. He continued with his choreography, with great expressiveness and putting all of him in every motion.

When the song finished, he stood in the middle of the room for a few seconds, with his cheeks red because of the effort and his breathe agitated. Once more, he met the Nara’s stare in the cold surface.

The boy was looking at him with wide eyes, apparently stunned. After a long silence, the Hyuuga turned to face him, though he didn’t spoke. He just stood there, inhaling and exhaling rapidly. Shikamaru watched him.

Then, the older hoy slowly started walking forward. The Nara straightened, a little startled, probably thinking that he was approaching to him. But Neji stopped a few steps away, and leaned to grab a bottle of water from the floor. He stood up again and gave it a long sip. After he drank, he lowered it and looked at Shikamaru once more.

-That was… -the taller boy begun to say. -really awesome.

-Thank you. -the Hyuuga answered as he put the bottle in the floor again. -Shouldn’t you be in detention?

-I’am. -he affirmed. -But professor Kakashi doesn’t like watching me. He just wants to read his books. He let me be outside the detention room, as long as I don’t leave the school.

-That makes it lighter. -Neji commented, and then remembered what had happened that day at Math. -What you did today at Mrs. Takenaka class was pretty impressive.

-You think? -the boy answered with no much interest.

-Yes. You solved the problem without a calculator in less than a minute. -the Hyuuga continued. -I couldn’t do that so fast.

The Nara let his eyes roll through the room.

-It’s not a big deal. Numbers are easy. -he just replied. Then he made a slow step inside, and asked: -What was that? What you just did?

Neji understood that he was referring to his dance.

-It is a choreography I learned at the academy. -he explained.

-Right, but I mean, what is it? I know it wasn’t ballet. And there are many other disciplines, like jazz, latin, folk, swing and more, isn’t that so?

He widened his eyes at the Nara’s words.

-I am surprised that you can name so many. -he said. -So you already knew something about dancing.

Shikamaru smiled, with a tiny hint of embarrassment.

-Nah. I googled it. -he confessed.

The Hyuuga laughed amused.

-Really? -he asked.

-Yeah… But I google everything. Like, all the time. -was the boy’s pretext. -And I got a surprise. Didn’t know there were so many different styles.

-There are. -Neji affirmed. -This one is called contemporary dance.

The Nara  nodded slowly.

-It’s pretty cool. -he said.

Neji was about to respond, when his cell phone started ringing.

-I’m sorry. I have to get that. -he excused himself. -It could be my uncle.

Indeed, it was. The Hyuuga had a quick conversation with Hiashi and then ended the call. He turned to look at Shikamaru again.

-I have to go. -he said. -We are having people at home tonight, and we need to prepare the house and the food.

-Sure. -the Nara told him, and started walking besides him towards the school exit.

There was no need for the boy to accompany Neji, but he did it anyway. They stopped just a couple of steps outside the big door that opened the way to the street.

-How long do you have to stay here? -the Hyuuga asked

-Until all activities are finished and the school closes. -Shikamaru answered in a dragged voice.

-So until seven? -Neji deduced. When the younger boy nodded, he added: -That is a lot of time.

-Yeaaah. But it's fine. -the Nara reassured him. -I'll go sleep in the library and it will pass fast.

They both smiled at each other one last time, and then pronounced words they had been repeating in the previous days:

-Goodbye, Nara.

-Goodbye, Hyuuga.

Neji walked away to the bus station, feeling Shikamaru's eyes watching him go.

 

***          *         ***

  


He arrived to his classroom the next morning, and found most of his classmates talking animatedly. He went straight to his seat, and Tenten, who was sitting over her desk as always, gave him a little smile.

-Guess what? -she told him. -Looks like we are having a party!

-What? -Neji asked, frowning.

-This friday it's my birthday! -Ino screamed enthusiastic at hearing them. -We are definitely throwing something up.

-We could do it in Shino's house! -Kiba exclaimed. -His parents are out town.

-Really? -Naruto asked. -That would be awesome!

-Wait! -Shino tried to interrupt. -I don't think...

-C'mon, man! -Kiba insisted. -We'll help you clean after!

-Yes!! -Ino confirmed. -Please please pleaseeee?

Shino hesitated, but finally surrendered at the pressure.

-Fine... -he said.

-We have to buy drinks! -Ino said excited. -And prepare some music!

The Hyuuga took a quick lock at Shikamaru, who was sitting in his chair with his feet over his desk and his arms crossed, trying to keep his head up and struggling to stay awake.

Neji had never attended to his classmates parties. He had never asked, but had always felt like he wasn't invited. This wouldn't be an exception.

During lunch, Tenten didn’t stopped talking about Ino’s birthday.

-C’mon Neji! You have to go! -she begged. -You never go to our parties, and they’re really fun!

Lee told him about how reunions with friends were very special moments they should treasure to celebrate their youth, and the Hyuuga disimilatedly rolled his eyes at him. He caught a brief glance of Shikamaru, who was lazyly supporting his face in one his palms, at a table not far away from them, while he listened to of his friends. Neji hesitated for a second.

-Everyone goes to those parties? -he asked.

-Of course! -the girl screamed, at realizing he was actually considering to go. -Well, except for Sasuke. So are you coming?

The Hyuuga looked at her hopeful face with doubt, and simply answered:

-I will think about it.

After that day subjects, they had to stay for the gym class. Boys and girls changed their school clothes for the sport uniform, which consisted in a white t-shirt and black pants. Maito Guy, the gym teacher, was already waiting for them in the football camp wearing his weird green spandex suit, encouraging them with great enthusiasm as they approached. For heating up, the whole class begun to run around the field. Neji quickly reached a constant speed. He was always among the first to finish the five laps. The loud and energetic voice of the professor thundered in the air:

-That is not running, Shikamaru! Feel your body fill with the incredible adrenaline of physical exercise! Strive, boy! Strive!

Neji took a look back over his shoulder, and he saw the Nara at the end of the class, not running at all, but just lazyly moving his feet across the field. When the teacher cheered, he effortlessly jogged a little, but quickly went back to walking. He had never tried very hard in any physical activity.

When gym was finally finished, Neji walked to the showers, along with the rest of the boys. Inside, he sat in a long bank and started untying his hair, when the slacky figure of Shikamaru passed before his eyes. The boy placed himself not far away from the Hyuuga, and started undressing while he talked carelessly with Shino and Naruto.

Neji tried as hard as he could to not look at him, but his eyes just betrayed him. The Nara took of his t-shirt and tossed it to a side. The sight of his skinny but muscular back made the older boy blush slightly, and he traced the path of his spine from his shoulder blades to the beginning of his pants. But then, Shikamaru took them off as well, revealing a tight dark green boxer.

Neji felt heat spreading through his face. He diverted his eyes immediately, alarmed for what he was feeling. He had been in that locker room with his classmates a million times and he had never noticed the Nara specially. Confused, he waited until all the others were already inside a shower to get undress himself.

Then, with a towel in his waist an another one in his hand to dry his hair, he walked to a cubicle and slide the curtain. He didn't got out of there until he was sure that everyone had already left. He didn't wanted to see Shikamaru’s half naked body again, nor being seen by him in that same state either.

When he finished combing his hair, he got off the locker room and walked to the school exit, decided to take the last bus to his house.

But when he got to the sidewalk, he saw the image of the Nara saying goodbye to Choji, who was waving at him as he started to walk away. While he was turning to leave, the younger boy noticed Neji approaching, and stopped to wait for him with his hands in his pockets. The Hyuuga knew that just passing by him would be rude, so he approached and stopped in front of him.

-Going home? -Shikamaru asked him, relaxed as always.

-Yes. -he answered, trying not to think in the boy's bare back or the tight underwear he had just saw at the showers.

He was going to add something, just to fill the moment with words, when the Nara questioned:

-Want a ride?

Neji hesitated.

-I don't want to bother you. -he said. -It's okay, I will take the bus.

-It doesn't bother me. -the tall boy replied honestly. -I live past your house. Let's go.

After this, he started walking towards his car, which was parked not far away from them. Neji knew he was just being nice, but he felt so strange at being alone with him after the weird feelings he had had only minutes ago. There was no way of giving him a negative without being impolite, so he followed Shikamaru and got in the passenger seat once more.

-Thank you. -he said once inside.

-No problem. -the boy answered, calmly driving to the Hyuuga’s house, wich location he already knew.

They chatted about school during a few minutes, and Neji was glad of having something to talk about.

-I didn't expect to have to do a History essay in the first month of classes, but I'm not surprised. Professor Iruka is nice, but demanding. -the Hyuuga commented.

Shikamaru turned his head to stare at him, alarmed.

-What History essay? -he asked.

Neji looked at him raising an eyebrow.

-The one about the World War I? -he answered. -Professor Iruka said it yesterday in class. It's for next week.

The Nara focused his eyes in the road again and shook his head.

-I don't remember that... -he affirmed.

Neji couldn't help but to smile a little.

-Maybe you were sleeping.

Shikamaru outlined a half grin.

-Most probably... -he said. -Damn it, I hate essays. Is it very long? -the Hyuga moved his head from one side to the other, showing that it was pretty long. -Shit, and I don't even have the activities. Could you pass them to me?

-Sure. -Neji assured. -I have them at home.

When they reached the house entrance, the iron gate opened to let them in. Shikamaru drove along the Hyuuga gardens and stopped before the big wooden door.

-I'll wait here. -the Nara said when Neji started getting off the car.

-It's okay, you can come in. -the older boy assured him.

So they both closed the car doors and walked to the enormous house.

Neji entered using his key, and went straight to the kitchen. There, his uncle was sitting at the large table where they always ate (they had a huge dining room, but it was only used in special occasions) reading a newspaper. Behind him, Hinata was cooking something. Judging by the smell, it was probably a cake. A few meters away from them, Hanabi was sitting at the floor, surrounded by many toys and colour pencils, happily drawing in a big piece of paper.

At seeing him enter, Hiashi lowered his newspaper.

-Welcome home, Neji. -he greeted his nephew, but then noticed Shikamaru, who had stopped in the kitchen's door and was waiting in silence. -Hello. -he added, watching the boy carefully.

-Hello, sir. -The Nara answered cordially.

-Shikamaru is only going to stay for a minute, uncle. -the young Hyuuga explained. -I just have to give him something from school.

Hiashi nodded calmly.

-All right. -he said. -Come on in, boy. You don't have to stay there.

The Nara gave a few shy steps into the kitchen.

-Thankyou, sir. -he replied. And then noticed his other classmate immerse in her cooking. -Hi, Hinata.

The girl turned around with a big bowl in her hands and smiled to him.

-Hi, Shikamaru.

Neji took off his backpack and put it over the table. He took from it a pen and a notebook, and walked to a furniture where he had put yesterday's homework. He grabbed it and started copying the History assignment for Shikamaru.

-Are you going to Ino’s birthday this Friday? -Hinata asked the tall boy, while she churned the cake mix.

-Sure, she wouldn’t let me miss it. -he answered. -Are you going?

-I am. -the girl answered with a smile.

-What about you? -he questioned, looking at Neji leaning over the furniture.

The young Hyuuga hesitated for a few seconds, but before he could answer, his uncle interrupted:

-Are you invited too, Neji?

-I don’t know… -the boy said, doubting.

-Of course you are. -Shikamaru affirmed. -Everybody is.

Hiashi gave his nephew a happy smile.

-That is great, kid. You never go out with your friends. -he said.

-I could pick you two up and take you, if you want. -the Nara offered.

-Oh thank you, Shikamaru. -Hinata told him. -That would be very nice.

Neji found himself without excuse now. Apparently he would have to go, because his uncle seemed glad to believe that he was included in the class’s group of friends.

From the floor, Hanabi rose her stare and looked at the Nara with great curiosity.

-Hello. -she told him.

-Hi. -the boy answered.

-My name is Hanabi. -the little girl said. -Who are you?

-I’m Shikamaru. -he replied, a bit awkwardly, and then stared at her drawing. -What are you doing there?

The child smiled proudly and lifted the piece of paper to show it to him.

-I’m making a drawing of my daddy and me. -she said.

The Nara gave a short step towards her and observed the drawing.

-Looks nice. -he commented. -What’s that thing you are standing in?

-It’s the moon! -Hanabi exclaimed happily.

-The moon? -Shikamaru asked grinning. -That’s pretty cool.

-Yes. -the little girl agreed. -It is my favorite planet.

At this, the tall boy let out a little laugh.

-The moon can’t be your favorite planet. -he affirmed.

The kid opened her eyes wide, and then frowned a little.

-Why not? -she questioned.

Shikamaru shrugged.

-Because it’s not a planet. -he said.

-Its not??? -Hanabi asked, completely surprised.

The Nara slightly laughed again.

-No. It’s actually a satellite. -he explained.

The girl looked at her drawing and then back at Shikamaru.

-What is that? -she wanted to know.

The boy took a moment to think how to answered to that.

-Well, -he started. -you know planets travel in circles around the sun, right? -The little girl nodded. -That’s called orbiting. Planets orbit around the sun. And satellites orbit planets, means they travel in circles around a planet. The Moon goes around Earth, which is a planet. That makes it a satellite. And there are many others.

Hanabi widened her eyes again.

-Really? -she asked. -There are more moons?

Neji caught a glance of his uncle observing the conversation from above his newspaper.

-Yes. I mean, not in Earth, but other planets have moons too. -Shikamaru affirmed. -Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune have moons. -at seeing that the girl was interested, he kept talking. -In fact, do you know how many moons Jupiter has?

Hanabi shook her head.

-Try to guess. -he encouraged her.

The little kid thought for a moment, and then said:

-Ten?

The Nara smiled openly.

-No, that’s not even close. -he told her. -Try again.

-Mmmm… -the child meditated. -Twenty?

Shikamaru laughed once more.

-Nop. Wanna know? -Hanabi nodded with anticipation. -Sixtyseven.

The girl opened her mouth, totally surprised.

-Waaaaw! -she exclaimed.

-I know. -the Nara said. -Imagine looking at the sky and seeing not one moon, but sixtyseven. Would be pretty awesome, right?

The girl smiled with amusement and clapped her hands, looking at the sky through the kitchen window.

-Yes!! -she shouted.

Shikamaru laughed at her enthusiasm, and turned to look at Neji. The boy had already finished copying the homework and was observing the talk between them with a smile, same as Hinata and his uncle. The Nara smiled back to him, and turned to Hanabi again.

-With a good telescope you can actually see Jupiter from here. -he affirmed.

Hanabi’s eyes shined at those words.

-I want to see it!! -she screamed standing up and giving tiny jumps.

Hiashi laughed from his seat.

-We can go to the Observatory one of this nights and see it. -he told his child.

Delighted, the kid ran to hug her dad.

-Thankyou, daddy! -she said with very happy.

Neji chukelled and patted his little cousin’s head before heading to the house entrance.

-I’ll go open the door for Shikamaru, uncle. -he said.

-Okay. Goodbye, boy. -the man said with a polite smile.

-Goodbye, sir. -the Nara answered inclining his head, and then waved to Hinata. -See you tomorrow, Hinata.

-Goodbye, Shikamaru! -the girl responded.

-Goodbye, Shikamaru!! -Hanabi repeated grinning.

-Goodbye, Hanabi. -he told her, smiling too, and then followed Neji to the door.

The two boys walked to the car.

-That was very cute. -Neji said with a smile, handing Shikamaru the paper he had wrote. -I had no idea you were good with children

-I’m not. But she seems like a good kid. -the Nara answered. -Thanks for the homework. I guess I’ll go do it… maybe.

The older boy laughed, and then watched his classmate get in the car. They waved goodbye, and the vehicle disappeared behind the iron gate.

 

***          *         ***

 

When Neji and Hinata got to the classroom the next morning, they found several of their classmates reunited at the door, talking to the preceptor. Kabuto was an advanced university student who had taken the job of helping the teachers to add some points to his resume. He took care of maintaining the order in all the grades, and replaced the professors when they couldn’t attend to class. He was close to the students because their age difference wasn’t too big. Kiba was telling him about the great party they were preparing for Ino’s birthday.

-It’s gonna be wild, men. -the boy was saying.

-Don’t drink to much. -Kabuto advised them. -Remember that you are minors and you don’t know how to handle alcohol.

-Don’t worry, dude. -Naruto added waving a hand at him. -We already have some experience with booze.

Shikamaru was there with them, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets and his eyes half closed, struggling to stay awake. Neji and his cousin passed them, and headed to their seats. But seconds after crossing the door, they heard the voice of Kabuto asking:

-Shikamaru, where is your tie?

Seconds later, the lazy boy answered.

-I don’t know.

-How can you not know? -the older boy insisted.

-I must’ve lost it somewhere. I’m sorry.

-How can you lose your tie? If the Principal sees you he is going to be very mad. -Neji heard Kabuto let out a resigned exhalation. -I’ll go bring you another one. Now get inside, Profesor Kakashi is coming.

Neji was already sitting in front of his desk with to Tenten when Shikamaru walked next to them to go to his seat. The Hyuuga didn’t lift his head, focusing in opening his Literature book in the chapter they were studying. The teacher entered the room and greeted the class.

-Today we will make a little exercise about discursive genres. You will take different fragments of books from page 24 and 25 and identify at what genre each one belongs.

-Sound easy. -Tenten commented to Neji in a murmur.

-But we will make a little change. You will switch groups. -Kakashi stated.

-What?? -Naruto whined, because he had always felt more than happy of sharing seat with Sakura. -Why??

-Well... -the teacher explained. -A professor had make the rest of us know that the performance of some students is not the best. And we decided to change the groups for a day, to see if the situation changes.

-Some students? -Ino asked, turning in her seat to stare at Shikamaru.

Neji slightly looked over his shoulder, and saw the Nara sticking out his tongue to his friend.

-Yes, well, I’m not giving names, -Kakashi said. -but you all know each other so you don't need me to. Let’s see… Choji, you’ll go with Sasuke. Lee, with Ino…

And so, the professor made all kids change seats.

-Neji, you go to the back with Shikamaru. -he told the Hyuuga.

A little alarmed, but trying to control himself, Neji picked up his things and walked to the empty space Choji had left. The Nara simply watched him, leaning against the back of his chair.

-Hey. -he told him.

-Hi. -Neji answered.

The class begun to work, when Kabuto entered.

-Excuse me, Professor. -he said. -I just came to give Mr. Nara a tie, because apparently he lost his.

Kakashi just rose his eyebrows, and let him in. The preceptor walked to the last desk and handed Shikamaru the dark red tie, and the boy lazyly put it on.

-How did you lose you tie? -Neji asked him after Kabuto was gone.

-I didn’t. -the boy answered. -I just left it at home. I always forget to bring it. Don’t understand why it's so important.

-It’s part of the uniform. -the Hyuuga told him.

-Yeah, so that we all look the same, like a freaking army. -Shikamaru said. -Must be a very big deal for them, cause every time I don’t bring it, they give me another.

-How can they have so many? -Neji questioned.

-There’s a deposit with things forgotten by the students. -the Nara explained. -They have tons of ties there. I’m seeing if someday they run out of them.

The older boy lifted an eyebrow.

-So you have a lot of school ties in your house? -he asked.

-Yes. I think I have about 26, from first grade to now. -Shikamaru said with a smile. -I could start collecting them.

The Hyuuga laughed softly.

-You are unbelievable. -he affirmed.

The Nara just reclined more in his seat and replied:

-Yeah, I know. If this was Hogwarts, I would definitely be in Slytherin.

That was a funny comment. Neji had never shared it with anyone, but he loved the Harry Potter saga.

-Why? -he questioned, amused.

-Because I’m smart, but a little malicious, and I like breaking the rules now and then. -he said.

-Have you read Harry Potter’s books? -Neji asked, completely forgetting their assignment.

-Yeah, all of them. -was the boy’s reply. -Have you?

The Hyuuga nodded.

-Really? -the Nara seemed surprised, and he straightened. -Then you know what I’m talking about. -He let his eyes roam the classroom, and stopped over his best friend. -I’ve always thought that Choji would be in Hufflepuff.

Neji looked at the boy too, and nodded again.

-I think he would. -he agreed. -And I believe Lee and Tenten would too.

Shikamaru leaned over his desk, supporting himself in his elbows.

-This is fun. -he said. -What house do you think Naruto would be in?

Neji thought for a moment.

-Gryffindor, definitely. -he answered. -Along with Kiba, because they are passionate and reckless. -He studied his classmates for a second. -Where do you think Ino would be?

-Also in Slytherin, of course. -Shikamaru retorted.

The Hyuuga laughed again.

-Why do you think that? -he questioned.

-Because she’s evil. If you saw her at a clothing auction, you’d believe me. -the boy told him.

-And what about Sasuke? -he kept interrogating.

-Slytherin too, but just cause he’s an ashole. -he said grinning.

Neji laughed once more.

-And me? -he asked.

-Ravenclaw, without doubt. -he affirmed. -Because you’re smart and good-looking.

The Hyuuga felt his heart stopping, and begged to not blush.

-Good-looking?? -he repeated.

Shikamaru shrugged, unworried.

-At least that’s what Ino always says.

That last comment dissipated his awkwardness a little, and in that moment, Professor Kakashi called their attention.

-Could you start working there in the back? -he demanded. -God, Shikamaru, how fast can you make a good student like Neji go lazy like you?

-But we were talking about Literature, sir. -the Nara said smiling.

-I bet you were… -the Professor murmured, ironically.

Giving Shikamaru a complice look, the Hyuuga apologized to the teacher and opened his book to finally start with the assignment.

The rest of the morning went by nicely. He sat next to Shikamaru in all the classes, and the boy didn’t fall asleep at any moment. Well, he dozed a little during Anatomy, but teacher Tsunade just ignored him, apparently resigned. At that moment, Neji’s eyes were attracted to the Nara’s desk: in the wooden surface, there were countless math calculations scribbled in pencil. He wondered if the boy used them to cheat in exams, but didn’t dare to ask.

When the last bell rang and they were free to go, Neji walked as always to the rehearsal room, to practice his dance routine. Shikamaru didn’t appeared that time, and he stayed in school until it closed. Having lost the bus again, he took the river path, thinking that maybe he would find the Nara there. But it didn’t happen. Telling himself that it was the best, he kept walking until he reached his house.

 

***          *         ***

 

On Friday, almost the whole class was excited about that night party. Neji felt a little insecure, not sure of how the rest of the boys and girls would receive him among them. But Tenten was so happy to know that he was coming, that he felt better at realising that he could stay all the night next to her.

Later that day, he was at his room, finishing choosing the clothes he would wear: he had opted for a white pant and a black t-shirt, and he decided to let his hair loose. He had just finished changing when the door bell sounded.

He went down the stairs, but discovered that his uncle had already opened the door. He was greeting Shikamaru, who was standing next to his car, waiting for him and Hinata. She was ready too, so they said goodbye to Hiashi and left the house to get inside the car. Neji sat in the passenger seat, and Hinata placed herself in the back.

The Hyuuga took a quick look at his driver: he was wearing a ragged jean and a nerdy green t-shirt that said “Bazinga” with elements of the periodic table. They chatted calmly while the Nara drove them to Shino’s house.

When they arrived, the rest of the class was already there. They had hung colored lights in almost every room, and over a long table there were sandwiches and strange bottles that Neji supposed contained alcohol. Loud music was coming from a big stereo puggled to a computer.

-You really came! -Tenten shouted while she ran towards Neji to hug him.

-Shit, this place looks like a cabaret. -Shikamaru commented, staring at the twinkling lights.

-You can’t throw a party without the proper illumination. -Ino said approaching to them. -Come on in! Get a drink!

Neji stood with his best friend the entire time. No one seemed annoyed by his presence, and actually Sakura and Choji celebrated that he had come. The teenagers talked and teased each other, like always. Some of them played stupid drinking games, while others danced. Among them was Lee, who had had just a sip from a glass, and was completely wasted, dancing around like a maniac.

-He moves like a giff from internet. -Tenten told Neji laughing.

The boy laughed too. He had taken a drink Shino had offered to him just to be polite, and he was drinking it very slowly. He had never tried alcohol before, and he didn’t wanted to get drunk. The rest of his classmates didn’t seem to have the same preoccupation: Kiba was shouting jokes at the same volume as the music; Naruto was performing ridiculous pirouettes to show that he wasn’t drunk, though he was; Hinata was looking at him marveled and red as a tomato. Shino was trying to keep things under control, but it was hard when his friends kept telling him to relax and don’t be a party ruiner.

When Tenten walked to the table to get herself another drink, Neji just stayed standing alone, watching the rest of the people have fun. Suddenly, the relaxed figure of Shikamaru appeared next to him. He had one hand in his pocket, and in the other one he was holding a glass.

-Having fun? -he asked the Hyuuga.

Neji nodded, but then frowned slightly.

-You shouldn't be drinking. -he said. -You are driving.

The Nara clicked his tongue.

-I’ll just stop a few hours before we go and it’ll be fine. -he answered.

Tenten came back with two glasses.

-Here, I got one for you. -she told Neji, handing him a drink.

-Thank you, but I think I’ve had enough. -he replied.

-Oh, please. -his friend insisted. -You only had one. Stop being so tight.

-I’m not tight. -he complained.

-Yes you are. -the girl continued. -You need to have more fun!

Kiba, Ino and Sakura approaced, and the five of them started talking about school.

-And what’s Professor Orochimaru’s problem? -Ino asked. -He is so creepy. Gives me chills.

-I know! -Tenten agreed. -He looks like the bad guy from a Disney movie.

They laughed while they kept talking about their teacher. Neji had never participated in his classmates conversations, and though he wasn’t making many interventions, he realized he was having a good time. Without noticing, he kept drinking from the glass Tenten had gave him, until he started feeling a little heated. He ignored it, because the sensation was in fact pleasant.

-Mrs. Takenaka totally has it with you. -Kiba told Shikamaru.

-Yeah... -the boy said, and Neji realized he was a little red, possibly due to the alcohol. Looking at the rest of their friends and finding the same feature, he thought he should look exactly like them.

-She wouldn’t if you worked in class. -Sakura affirmed. -You never do the homework.

-I hate homework. -the Nara mumbled. -It’s a drag.

-We have all skipped homework sometime. -Ino added. -But you go too far.

-Not all. -Kiba opined. -I bet Hyuuga had never done it in his life.

Everybody looked at him, and Neji hesitated. It was true, he had never skipped an assignment in all his years of school.

-That’s because he’s a very good student. -Tenten added. -The teacher's favorite.

-I’m not the teacher's favorite. -the Hyuuga said. It was clear that his classmates thought of him like a perfect and very applied student, and for some reason, he didn’t like it, though they weren’t wrong.

-Yes you are. -Sakura kept going. -And if I’m the one telling so, imagine how nerdy you must be.

A particular song started sounding in the stereo, and Ino got so excited that she almost spilled her drink.

-Oh my god! -she screamed- I love that song!

It was “Party Rock Anthem ”, by LMFAO.

-Hey! We should bring Shino’s mixing console and play it ourselves! -Kiba exclaimed.

-He has a mixing console? -Shikamaru asked. -That’s cool.

-Yeah! -the Inuzuka affirmed. - Yo Aburame! Get over here and bring your mixer!

Shino looked at them, doubting, but had to give up when Naruto approached to him and started insisting. He walked to another room, and came back with a mixing console that had many buttons and a little piano. He put it over the table and the rest of the class approached to it.

-Play Party Rock Anthem! -Ino requested.

-I don’t know that song… -the boy answered a little embarrassed.

-Shikamaru knows it! -Choji said, pointing to his friend.

The Nara made an awkward face, but at the insistence of almost everybody, he put himself behind the console.

-Fine, but I only know it on the piano. I have no idea of how the mixer works. -he confessed.

-Shino can take care of that. -Tenten assured. -Don’t you have a microphone to plugged to the stereo? I can sign it!

Once more, the Aburame left the room and came back with a microphone.

-Why do you have all this stuff? -Sakura asked him.

-My father was a DJ when he was young. -the boy explained.

-Let’s bring it on! -Ino yelled.

Shikamaru put one hand over the keyboard, without releasing his glass, and started playing the song. The Hyuuga was amazen, having no idea that he knew how to play an instrument. Shino added some rhythm with the mixer, and everybody started dancing and jumping around. Tenten sang with a pretty good voice at the microphone, and the rest of the class accompanied her.

Neji’s vision begun to get a bit blurry, but he didn’t paid attention to it. He was openly laughing and balancing his weight to the music. Without realizing it, he started singing along with his friends.

They played many songs, as they kept drinking. Lee didn’t stop dancing at any minute, looking totally unaware of his surroundings. Naruto tried complicated street dance steps that ended up with him lying on the floor every time. Everybody laughed and had fun.

-I just can’t believe what I’m seeing! -Tenten told Neji, while he moved his head to one side to the other with the music. -You are unrecognizable!

-Well, you were so ilussionated with me coming that I didn’t wanted to disappoint you. -the boy joked, taking another sip from his third drink.

Shino and Shikamaru had stop playing, and now the music was coming from the computer again. The two of them were standing next to the couple of friends, along with Kiba and Sakura.

-Yeah, right. -Tenten told him. -Just admit that you actually enjoy partying! You are always so demure and stiff.

-I’m not! -the Hyuuga exclaimed, almost tripping with his own feet.

-Yes you are! -she repeated, and at seeing that his friend frowned at her, she added -If you’re not, then do something crazy! -the girl challenged him.

-Yes! -Sakura cheered.

Neji regained his balance, and looked at her.

-Like what? -he asked.

-We should make him drink handstanding! -Kiba shouted.

-We want him to loosen a bit, not to die, idiot. -Sakura replied.

-I’m loosen already… -Neji defended himself.

-Prove it! -Tenten screamed. -You have to.... -she looked around the room, searching for a dare, and her eyes stopped in Shikamaru. -Oh! You have to kiss Shikamaru!

Startled, the Nara choked a little with his drink.

-What??! -Neji asked, alarmed. -How does that prove anything?!

His friend chuckled.

-Because it’s something you would never do! -she said. -I dare you!

Neji just shook his head.

-No. It’s stupid. -he stated.

-Ha! -she exclaimed. -I told you you were too stiff.

-I’m not! Shut up!

-Then do it! -the girl insisted.

He was so mad at her for keep insinuating that he was a boring nerd, that he would have done anything. Besides, though he couldn’t tell, he was definitely drunk.

-Fine. -he said, and then smiled to her. -But you have to do something too.

Tenten stared at him, suspicious.

-What? -she questioned.

The boy gave her a malicious grin.

-You’ll have to invite Choji to dance. -he answered.

The girl went red as fire in a second.

-What??! No way!! -she shouted, and Neji started laughing at that.

-That is the most stupid challenge ever. -Kiba opined. -What’s the big deal in asking someone to dance?

-It’s not a big deal! -Tenten lied, embarrassed, and tried not show her jitters. -I’ll do it, if you do what I said first. It’s okay, because you’ll never do it.

Neji rose an eyebrow, defiant.

-Oh, you think? -he questioned. -To see you ask Choji to dance, I’ll do anything.

-Dude, seems like you’re about to be kissed! -Kiba told Shikamaru, laughing of him.

-Don’t I have a call in all this? -the Nara asked, though he didn’t sounded annoyed at all.

-No you don’t. Shut up. -Tenten answered sharply to him, and then narrowed her eyes on Neji’s. -Stop braggin. You won't do it.

The Hyuuga smiled to her with audacity.

-Watch me. -he simply said.

Then he turned to Shikamaru, closed the distance between them, grabbed the boy by the neck of his t-shirt, and standing in the tip of his feet, because the Nara was considerably taller than him, he put his lips over his and pressed their mouths together. The stunned kid opened his eyes wide.

Around them, everybody screamed, amused. Everybody except for Tenten, who was now obligated by her stupid challenge to ask Choji to dance.

After short seconds, Neji separated himself from the Nara and let go his t-shirt, turning around to walk towards his friend to rub to her face that he wasn’t stiff. But he had only made one step forward, when a hand grabbed his wrist strongly. In one single movement, Shikamaru made him turned again with great impulse, and pulled him against his body. Quickly letting his wrist go, he held the Hyuuga by the waist so he couldn’t move, and smashed their lips together, introducing his fierce and wild tongue inside Neji’s mouth. He gave him a deep tigerish kiss. Then, he moved his head back, and looked into the older boy’s eyes.

-That’s a kiss, Hyuuga. -he said with a half smile.

Neji just stood petrified, staring at him in complete surprise. Unconsciously, he took a hand to his mouth.

-Oh my god!! -Tenten screamed. -You perv!! -Then she grabbed Neji’s arm and pulled him away from the Nara.

-What the hell, dude??!! -Kiba shouted, looking at Shikamaru incredulous. -How drunk are you??!!

The taller boy just inclined his head back and laughed oppenly.

-Very. -he finally said.

His friend quickly waked him away from the group.

-That tricky bastard! -she told Neji. -I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have dared you to do that. I never thought Shikamaru would do something like that. Please don't be mad at me! And don't make me ask Choji to dance, I beg you! I would totally faint. I mean,  I...

But the Hyuuga wasn't listening. He still felt the ghost of Shikamaru's tongue inside his mouth. What had just happened? Had he really kissed Shikamaru? And had the boy really kissed him back after? His drunken mind was having great troubles at determining if all that was real.

-Are you listening to me?? -he heard Tenten asking him.

He shook his head to clear his mind, but he only got more dizzy. He decided to stop drinking immediately.

The party went on for other hour, in which he stayed mostly silent, and avoided eye contact with the Nara. He knew he still had to drive him and his cousin home, and didn't know how to act in front of him in the car.

They stopped the music when Kiba threw up in the floor. That was the signal which indicated that they had had enough. Ino agreed to stay helping Shino clean, because it had been her birthday party, and the rest of them took their ways home.

Neji was helping Hinata to walk outside the house. She had drunk very little, but apparently she couldn't handle even that. Not that Neji had could, obviously. The girl looked so dizzy that she seemed about to fall asleep at any moment.

He rose his head and saw Shikamaru directly in front of him, holding the door of the car's back sit opened, looking relaxed and unworried as always. Feeling a sudden knot in his throat, the Hyuuga accepted that he had no alternative, and walked to the boy. He kindly put his cousin in the car, and she immediately lay down all along the seat. He was hoping he could sit in the back with her, but now he would have to go in the front.

Shikamaru closed the door, and then turned around the car to put himself behind the wheel. Neji got in the passenger site, and looked out the window, just to not let the Nara see his face.

The boy drove them slowly through the dark night. Neither of them said a word for a long time. But suddenly, Neji felt a sharp pain in his head. He took a hand to his temple and closed his eyes.

-Headache? -he heard the calmed voice of Shikamaru asking.

He opened his eyes and gave him a careful side look. The Nara was driving serenely, with one arm supported on the window, and the other loosely leading the wheel. His lids where half closed, but he didn't seemed sleepy. He just seemed, at ease. Neji asked himself how could he be so calm after what had happened.

Finally, the Hyuuga remembered that the boy had questioned him about his headache, and nodded.

-Welcome to hangover. -Shikamaru said with a smile.

Neji let out a very soft laugh, just to show that he was taking everything normally too.

They reached his house, and the Nara got off the car to help him get Hinata on her feet. The Hyuuga grabbed his cousin strongly, and looked at Shikamaru.

-Thank you for bringing us. -he murmured, as to not to wake his uncle, who's window was facing them.

-Your welcome. -the taller boy responded in another whisper, and gave him a soothe smile, that made something inside Neji melt. -I'll see you on Monday.

He tried to speak, but was hypnotized by Shikamaru's expression. He had never had a thought like this one before, but he realized he found him handsome. Incapable to talk, he just nodded, and tried a little smile.

The Nara got back in the car, and looked at him one last time through the window.

-Good night, Shikamaru. -he was finally able to say.

The boy smiled again, and then drove away from there.


	3. Chapter 3

During the terrible hours that the weekend lasted, Neji experienced a confusing whirlwind of sensations. Every time he remembered the kiss that Shikamaru had given him, his heart first shrank in a tiny point, and then expanded again in an adrenaline explosion. In that vertiginous jump, he felt fear and joy at the same time, and he had no idea of how to handle that. He didn't know if he was happy, or totally mad with himself. But what was certain was that seeing the face of the Nara again in school terrified him. Would the boy approach to him, like he had done in the last weeks? Or will he avoid him? And if it turned out to be the first one, how was Neji going to respond to those black, sleepy, but intriguing eyes? Should he run away, or face the situation?

When the first day of class came, he didn't wanted to enter the classroom. He walked towards it next to his cousin like he was heading to his extermination.

Neji crossed the door with his eyes in the floor, decided to not to look at the Nara. When he turned to go to his seat, he focused his stare in Tenten, who was already waving at him. But when he was hanging his backpack at the back of his chair, he just couldn't contain himself. He lifted his eyes to the farest corner of the room, and was surprised to find Shikamaru lying unconscious in his desk, next to his best friend.

How could he be sleeping? Neji was totally losing his mind. "Maybe I'm overreacting", he thought.

He couldn't help to keep staring at the completely unaware Nara for a few more seconds. As he had foreseen it would happen, he felt his heart hitting hard against his chest. But what he didn’t anticipated was briefly running out of air. What? He couldn't have a respiratory episode because of something like that. He wasn't that emotional, and all that wasn't that meaningful.

Neji turned around in his seat and tried to talk to his friend carelessly, surreptitiously recovering his breath.

History class passed by calmly, and then came Math. Msr. Takenaka didn’t miss a second, and immediately started explaining the new topic in the board. Neji thanked the fact that he had to concentrate in learning it, and put all his attention in the professor.

-For this variable, we will use the name _As_. Think that it is the chemical symbol for Astatine, and that way you wouldn’t forget it. Now, to calculate…

-That’s not the chemical symbol for Astatine. -a drowsy voice that came from the end of the class said.

The woman stopped writing and slowly turned around, with her hand still on the chalk over the board.

-What? -she asked.

 _-At_ is the chemical symbol for Astatine. -Neji heard Shikamaru answering with amazing calm. - _As_ is for Arsenic.

Mrs. Takenaka gave him a killing look, and narrowed her eyes

-I think I know a little more than a teenager. -she said sharply.

-If you say so. -the Nara continued undisturbed. -But I’m not the one confusing metalloids.

At hearing those words, the teacher gave several furious steps towards the end of the room and faced the boy with evident irritation.

-Oh, are you going to teach for me now? -he questioned. -Are you insinuating that I’m a bad professor?

Neji turned a little in his seat and watched at the now startled Shikamaru.

-I didn’t say that! -he defended himself. -I was just pointing a little mistake, that’s all.

But the woman rage didn’t eased. She started screaming to the boy that he was disrespectful and impertinent.

-You earned one day in detention! -she shouted with uncontrollable fury.

A growing curiosity appeared in Neji’s mind. He wanted to know if what the Nara had say was true. Being very careful, to make sure that the teacher couldn’t see him, he took his cellphone from under his desk and googled the periodic table. He was, for some reason, very happy to discover that the boy had been right.

-What are you doing? -Tenten whispered at him ay seeing that he was using his cellphone. Mrs. Takenaka hated to find students using them in class.

Neji inclined the scream to show her.

-Look. He’s right. -he said to her in a murmur.

His friend checked the information, and opened her eyes wide. But then, she put on a pitty expression at hearing at Shikamaru being unfairly accused. She definitely didn’t thought before acting when she said the next thing:

-Wait, Mrs Takenaka! He’s right!

Neji wasn't able to stop her in any way.

The murderous stare of the teacher traveled to her.

-What? -she asked once more, boiling with anger.

-Yes! -she insisted, thinking that she was doing a good thing. -Neji just googled it, and it’s true!

The Hyuuga went still as iron. He would’ve cut her head in that moment.

-Oh, really? -Mrs. Takenaka said, walking towards them. -So Mr. Hyuuga thinks I’m a bad teacher too, and he is also using his phone in class. One day in detention too.

-What?! -Neji exclaimed out loud, not believing it. -But I have never been on detention!

-There’s always a first time. -she answered, walking to her desk again.

-But I was just…! -he tried to explain himself.

-You want it to be two days? -she asked threatening, looking over her shoulder.

But Neji couldn’t accept a stain in his record just like that.

-No! But is just that, I…! -he tried again.

-Two days! -the woman screamed, pointing at him. -Do you want to make it three?

-Better let it go, or she will just keep adding days. -the resigned voice of Shikamaru said from behind.

Mrs. Takenaka gave the Nara her killing stare again.

-That’s two days for you two, Mr. Nara. -she spit.

Neji heard the boy cursing lowly, and hitting his forehead with the desk in frustration.

The Hyuuga turned in his seat and looked at Tenten. The girl was looking back at him covering her mouth, with a extremely sorry expression.

  


*        *         *

  


-I didn’t meant to ocasionate that! Please, forgive me! -Tenten kept imploring him during lunch.

Neji was not only mad because this was his first time being sended to detention, but he would also have to share the room with Shikamaru, and he definitely wasn’t ready for that. He begged that there were other kids in there too, and he wondered if he would be able to just pretend to do his homework to avoid eye contact.

After afternoon classes, he said goodbye to Tenten and walked to the detention room with his head low. There was no other place where he wanted to be less. Taking a deep breath, he crossed the door.

Inside, professor Kakashi was sitting behind the teacher’s desk, reading a book.

-Come in, Neji. -he said without even looking at him.

To his misfortune, the only other person there was Shikamaru, who was lazily leaning in a chair with his hands in his pockets. He met Neji’s stare, but the Hyuuga looked away immediately, went to a near seat, and placed himself with his back to him.

-Now let’s wait a few seconds until the last period bell rings… -Kakashi said, directing one of his ears to the door. A little later, said bell sounded. -There it is. Ok, boys, I’ll see you at the entrance in three hours.

Neji was perplex.

-What?- he asked, but heard the chair Shikamaru was occupying sliding backwards.

-Let’s go. -he told him, passing next to him. -I’ll explain you outside.

He didn’t wanted to follow him. Just being close to each other was frightening enough, imagine being alone together. He didn’t wanted to lose his breath again. But there was nothing in his mind to put as an excuse, so he finally stood up, and followed the boy.

They walked down the hall in a slow march.

-I think that I’ve told you this already, but professor Kakashi just wants to read his books, he’s absolutely not interested in watching us. -Shikamaru explained, moving calmly with his hands in his pockets. -So he let us wander around the school until the time passes.

Yes, Neji remembered having heard that before.

-Oh… -was all he could say.

-So. -the Nara begun to ask. -What do you want to do?

The older boy just turned his face away a little, to avoid a direct stare from the other. He simply shrugged, and said nothing.

-We could go outside to the training fields, and watch the stupid football team members crashing with each other. -Shikamaru suggested.

But again, Naji didn’t answered. He just lifted his shoulders a little once more, and kept silence. He was so nervous that he felt that if he spoke his voice was going to came out in a cry of panic.

He didn’t hear more from the young boy for a few moments. He was about to take a quick glance towards him, when he spoke again:

-It's something wrong? -he questioned.

Neji turned his head and looked at him briefly, but at the feeling of sudden heat rising up his cheeks, he hid his face again.

-No. -he said, shaking his head.

Shikamaru didn’t respond immediately, and the Hyuuga could feel his eyes watching him. He surely was analyzing his attitude.

-You sure? -he finally asked.

Neji nodded firmly a couple of times.

-Yes. -he confirmed.

After another short moment of doubt, the Nara let it pass.

-All right. -he said. -I know. Let’s go to a place where we can watch the fields, but not from too close as to be bullyed by those asholes. Follow me.

The boy walked them through many halls and stairs, into corridors Neji had never seen before. He seemed to really know his way around the school, probably because he was locked there in detention very frequently. He stopped when he reached a heavy iron door, and leaned against it to get it open. He held it that way for the Hyuuga to pass through it, but before doing so, the older boy took a look.

He could see the clear sky and the clouds. It was outside, up in the school terrace, practically the ceiling.

-Are you crazy? -he asked, looking at Shikamaru. -I’m pretty sure we can’t go there.

The Nara gave him a relaxed smile.

-It’s not written in any reglament. -he said. -And besides, no one’s going to see us. C’mon.

Neji hesitated, but finally took a step outside. The Nara did the same, and then walked to the end of the rooftop, which had a stone edge of about one meter. The Hyuuga approached too, and looked forward.

The day sky was of an intense light blue, and it was splattered with puffy clouds. Below, the football team and the cheerleaders trained with enthusiasm. For a second, he forgot about the awkward situation he was in. But it came back to his mind very fast, and he clenched his fist nervously again.

-All right, what’s going on? -he heard Shikamaru asking.

He turned his face slowly, and met his still calmed eyes, but once more, he couldn’t sustain them, and looked down.

-Nothing. -he assured.

-C’mon, don’t give me that again. -the Nara answered bluntly. -You’re acting weird.

-I’m not. -Neji reaffirmed.

-Yes you are. -Shikamaru replied. -Why don’t you just tell me what’s wrong so we can solve it?

He never expected such direct and honest words. The younger boy never seemed to feel uncomfortable at all. Neji gave him a side look, still doubting.

-It’s okay. Relax. -his classmate told him reassuringly. -You can tell me.

Neji tightened his fists a little, but finally answered, still looking at the floor.

-Don't you remember… What happened at Ino’s party?

He sensed Shikamaru moving his head back a little, like thinking.

-Mmm. Honestly, I have a few blanks from that night. -he said. -What do you mean exactly?

Could that be possible? That he didn’t remembered it? Neji would’ve give anything to forget it too. He hesitated a lot before responding:

-Don’t you remember…? -he said slowly, feeling his cheeks starting to burn. -...that we kissed?

A short silence came after, in which he really wanted to disappear from the world.

-Oh. -Shikamaru replied, without any change in his calmed attitude. -Yeah, I remember that. What about it?

“What about it?”. The Hyuuga rose his stare and looked into the taller boy’s eyes, stunned. He was staring at him completely unworried, with his usual lazy posture. How was he not even a little bit alarmed by it? He shook his head, not getting it.

-Don’t you think… -he asked again. -That it was weird, and... wrong?

Shikamaru lifted his eyebrows, and looked at him as if he was a little dumb.

-Amm, no. -he said calmly. -It was just a kiss. Is not a big deal.

Neji frowned, yet confused.

-But… We are both boys. -he clarified.

At this, the Nara made a surprised smile.

-So what? -he asked, as it if was the most stupid thought in the world. -We were drinking and fooling around. It doesn’t mean anything. You don’t have to freak out about it.

Suddenly, the older boy felt like a complete idiot. The unconcerned expression with which Shikamaru was looking at him made him realized that he had taken things out of proportions.

-Please, you can’t get like this just for that. -the Nara insisted, though he wasn’t mad apparently. He genuinely looked amused. -Besides, if you do, things will get awkward between us, and I like talking to you.

This last words made a warm sensation spread through Neji’s chest. He relaxed his tense body for the first time since the party.

-So,... -Shikamaru said, looking at him with a side smile. -Can we get back to the normal us?

He knew he shouldn't get excited by it, but the use of the word “us” made that pleasant feeling grow inside him. He finally smiled back.

-Okay. -he answered.

-Good. -the Nara replied. -Because we still have three hours left in here, and I don’t want to spend them in complete silence. It would be boring.

After that, the conversation flowed quietly. Neji was glad they had cleared things up. He didn’t felt nervous or anxious anymore. Those sensations had gone away to be replaced by a pleasing calm. They watched the football team train, while Professor Guy shouted encouraging phrases to them.

-Man, where does he get that energy from? -Shikamaru asked, observing the teacher jumping around his students. -If I ever get that annoying, please kill me.

The Hyuuga laughed softly.

-I doubt you will ever become as enthusiastic as he. -he said. -You are poles apart: he is way up all day, and you are sleeping most part of it.

-Yeah. -the boy agreed with a half smile. -Lucky for you. You won’t have to kill me.

Neji laughed again, and asked:

-How is that you are always completely out in the first hours of class? Don’t you sleep at all at nights?

Shikamaru leaned against the stone edge and looked down.

-I usually go to sleep very late, cause I always stay a lot of time wondering the Internet. Every night I find something interesting and I just can’t stop reading about it. Yesterday, I went crazy with the Large Hadron Collider. How it was made and how it works. And I found a pretty cool documentary about the discovery of the Higgs boson. I couldn’t stop watching it.

Neji lifted his eyebrows, surprised at the things the Nara founded interesting.

-Sound very complicated. -he commented.

-It’s not. -Shikamaru answered. -The documentary makes it very easy to understand. You should see it, it’s really entertaining. It’s called _Particle Fever_.

-I should write it down, or I’ll forget the name. -he Hyuuga told him.

-I’ll text it to you. -the Nara assured, as he took his cellphone from his pocket. But after unlocking it, he stood still looking at the screen for a few seconds. -I don’t have your number. -he said, like he was thinking out loud. Then, he quickly slid his thumb over the device, and then handed it to Neji.

The Hyuuga looked at it, to see the scream for a new contact opened. He wanted him to tap his number there. So he took the phone and did it. Then, he gave it back to Shikamaru.

The boy started writing with his thumb again.

-Neji Hyuuga. -he said, as he saved his classmate contact. -There, I sent it to you.

Indeed, Neji heard his own phone ringin in his backpack. So he pull it out, and looked at it. There was a new message from an unknown contact that said simply “Particle Fever”.

-I’ll watch it. -the Hyuuga promised, realizing that now they had each other’s number.

An hour later, when the practice was finally over, they went down to the field and started walking slowly around it, enjoying the warm weather and the afternoon sun.

-You had never been in the football team, right? -the Nara asked him, while they stopped and sat at the lowest bank for the public. -It’s weird, because you had been in almost all the School teams.

Neji shook his head slowly, observing the green grass in front of them.

-No. -he responded. -I prefer individual sports. I’m not very good with teamwork… Do you like football?

Shikamaru let out an honest burst of laughter.

-Not at all. -he said. -The only sports I like are e-sports. Which are basically video games competitions. I’ve been in many football games though, because my father likes them and I have to drive him, but I try to stay in the car the whole time.

Neji was surprised about how different Shikamaru was from all the boys he had met in his life. He didn’t like football nor exercice, and instead he liked video games and science. He was starting to realized that the Nara was a complete nerd, although he didn’t have the looks of one. But that last words reminded him of something he had wondered about before, when they had met next to the river.

-Can I ask you -he questioned- why doesn’t your father drive?

Shikamaru opened his eyes wide at hearing that, cearly not expecting it, but it only lasted a second. In a blink he recovered most of his relaxed attitude.

-Ammm. -he started. -Sure, why not. -He leaned against the second bank, and looked at the sky with an expression Neji had never seen in his face before. -My father is sick. He has a degenerative illness that affects his motricity. He was doing fine, but his condition is progressive, so last year he started having troubles with the pedals and the wheel. That’s why my mom got me a special permission to drive, even though I’m not eighteen yet. She works almost all day, so she can take care of it.

The Hyuga wanted to hit himself in the face. Why had he ask that? He had never imagined the reason would be so terrible.

-I’m so sorry.. -he apologized. -I had no idea. I shouldn't have asked.

Shikamaru looked at him and smiled with confort.

-It’s fine, I don’t mind. -he said. -Besides, you have gone to pretty hard things too. I can’t even imagine being on your shoes.

Neji knew he was referring to his parents death. Yes, it had been awful. A very traumatic experience, to be honest. Nine years had passed already, and he still had nightmares about that day. Like a movie repeating itself inside his head for the millionth time, the images that terrified him came back to live:

  


_He was sitting in the back seat of his uncle’s car, next to his cousin Hinata, and a little baby that was sleeping in a safety chair. Hiashi was driving them across the almost desert highway, following his parents, who were in another car in front of them. Three weeks ago, that poor man’s wife had died after a short fight with a fulminant disease. It had been a hard hit to the whole family, but especially to the little Hinata, and her new born sister Hanabi. To help them get distracted from the pain at least a little, Neji’s father had convinced them of going out for a weekend. They were coming back to the city after three days of retire, and Neji had asked to go in his uncle’s car to play games with his cousin during the trip. His parents had been really proud, at seeing that he wanted to do all he could to help her mood._

_The two kids were having fun in silence, as to not to wake up the baby, when a bright light exploited in front of them. Neji looked to the front, and saw a huge truck set on fire, that had just crashed against his parent’s car. He felt fear like never before._

_Hiashi turned the steering wheel sharply and managed to direct them to a side of the road. They didn’t crashed too only by miracle. The car stopped, and Naji immediately jumped out of it and started running towards the place of the accident. The dented metal remains were surrounded by flames, and he could feel the powerful heat they emanated while he approached at high speed._

_-Mommy!!! Daddy!!! -he screamed, going as fast as his little legs allowed him to._

_But no response came from there. His parent vehicle was practically indistinguishable under the enormous truck, that looked like a dying iron beast._

_He would’ve sunk into the fire if his uncle haven't grabbed him in time. He was only eight years old, so he didn’t understand that there was nothing he could do against a big column of flames like that one. His young mind just couldn’t asimilate what was happening._

_His uncle took him in his arms and hugged him, trying to comfort him. But it wasn’t enough to calmed him down. He just needed to see his parents, and hug them. Tears of desperation started running down his cheeks._

_Short minutes later, an ambulance arrived, but it was too late. When a doctor approached to them to confirm the deaths, Neji felt his heart breaking in two with an unbearable pain. He hid his face in his uncle’s neck, crying, and he felt Hiashi's tears wetting his head. That devastated man, who had just lost his beloved wife, and was now witnessing the tragic death of his dear brother. But Neji couldn’t think about him at that moment. All he could feel was desperation._

  


-Neji? -a voice called him, sounding very distant.

He came back to the real world with a startle. Shikamaru was looking at him with clear concern in his black eyes. Neji felt a cold chill running through his spine, like every time he remembered that disastrous episode. A penetrating pain pierced his chest, and he realized he was unable to speak.

-Neji, you’re not breathing. -Shikamaru said, staring at him with growing alarm.

Damn, this again. Every time the memory of the accident came back to him so realistic, he had an asthma attack. He tried to get some air, but it was impossible. Panic started to take control of him, and he widened his eyes in terror.

But fortunately, Shikamaru was there, and this time he knew what to do. He grabbed Neji’s backpack from the floor and opened the left pocket. Then he took the Hyuuga’s inhalator, and got closer to him. The younger boy put a ressauring hand at his back, just to let him know that he was there with him, and then handed him the medicine. Neji grabbed it, and quickly put it in his mouth. Almost instantly, his lungs begun to work again. His breath was agitated, but at least he was breathing.

They went silent for a few seconds, while he recovered himself. Shikamaru didn’t removed his hand, and Neji thanked it. It was like a wire to earth. After a few minutes, the older boy finally spoke:

-I’m okay. Thank you.

Only then the Nara relaxed and let him go.

-Dude, you scared the hell out of me! -he said.

For the relieved look on his face, it was true. But he had acted with amazing calm. Apparently he wasn’t the kind of person who lost his mind in critical situations.

-I’m sorry… -Neji told him, a little embarrassed for not having been able to control his emotions.

-Don’t apologize. -Shikamaru answered firmly, but kindly. -I’m sorry for waking up a bad memory.

Neji closed his eyes, and frowned a little. Every time this happened, immediately after his asthma attack he felt an uncontainable desire to cry. But he didn’t wanted to do that in front of the other boy. He took a deep breath, and tried to ease himself.

-It’s not your fault. -he assured. -It’s just a very bad memory. -He hesitated a moment, before adding. -I was there when it happened.

He heard Shikamaru clicking his tongue, and he opened his eyes to look at him. The boy was staring at the ground, with a very understanding and compassionate expression.

-That’s… terrible. -he finally said. -I’m so sorry, Neji.

It really looked like he was. He had never talked about that with anyone, mostly because it was too personal, and he didn’t felt right telling it, not even to Tenten. But for some reason, the fact that Shikamaru knew more about it didn’t made him feel exposed. He actually felt accompanied, and a little less alone.

-Don’t worry. -he said, smiling.

The Nara rose his head and watched him. At seeing his expression, he smiled as well.

-This conversation has gotten a bit dark, don’t you think? -the younger boy told him. -Why don’t we take another walk and talk about something else?

Neji couldn't agree more. They stood up, and retraced the grass path slowly.

They chatted about very varied things. Shikamaru told him more about the particle world, which seemed to interest him a lot. Neji discovered that he was a very curious boy, who liked to understand the intricate functioning of Nature. He had never expected to find such a rich interior life behind his bored and disinterested cortex.

At the same time, the Nara asked him a lot of questions about his dancing. Neji told him about the different styled he had practiced, and tried to explain how he felt when he danced. Shikamaru wasn't a fan of any physical activity, but he knew what it was to have something that amazed you and made you feel transported to another dimension. They were talking about this when the first stars started appearing in the yet light sky. The boy looked at them, watching in the opposite direction to with the sun was beginning to descend.

-When I think about the cosmos, it's like my own being gets blurred, or faded a little. -he explained. -To know that the universe is so big and bast, and that it is empty and filled of enormous things at the same time, things that are made of the same material than us... I don't know, it gives me a strange combination of fear and fascination. And I love it.

Neji observed the first starts too, realizing that he had never stopped to think about the Universe before. Shikamaru was very young, but his curiosity had drove him to know a lot for his short age. He was glad to be able to see this side of him.

When the hour of detention was coming to its end, they walked to the School entrance to wait for Professor Kakashi. The last bell ranged, and the man appeared at the big door, with his nose behind a book. He passed next to them without stop reading.

-You are dismissed, boys. -he told them. -You can go.

After he was gone, they approached to the sidewalk.

-Come, I'll take you home. -Shikamaru said, and they both entered in his car.

During the trip, the Hyuuga learned about where the boy lived. According to what he told him, his house was three times farther away from the School than Neji's, up a huge hill. He was always among the first students that got to the classroom every morning, because he drove her mom to her job very early, and then went to School to sleep over his desk until the rest of the people arrived.

-Instead of sleeping, you could take that time to do your homework. -Neji commented. -For example, when you get to School tomorrow, instead of sleeping you could do Mrs. Takenaka exercices.

Shikamaru frowned slightly.

-What exercises? -he asked.

The Hyuuga was amused.

-You don't remember? She told us to solve page sixty. -he answered. -It was today. After she yelled at us.

The Nara let out a heavy breath.

-What a drag... -he said. -No, I didn't pay attention. Damn it, I don't even have the book. I left it at Choji's like two weeks ago.

Neji laughed at the comment.

-I'll copy them for you at home. -he offered. -If you don't do what she asked again, she's probably going to suspend you.

Shikamaru nodded, showing that it was very likely.

They stopped at the Hyuuga's house and got off the car. Inside, they walked to the kitchen, where they found Hashi reading his newspaper, as always, and Hinata working on her own homework, sitting next to him. The other end of the table was full of Hanabi's toys, though the girl was not in sight.

Neji greeted his family.

-Hi, Neji. -Hiashi said when he entered, and then noticed Shikamaru. -Hello, boy.

The Nara leaned his head and made a respectful step inside.

-Hello, sir. -he answered.

-I'm going to copy tomorrow's homework for Shikamaru, uncle. -Neji explained, while he took off his backpack and opened it over the table.

The man nodded, and made a sign to the younger boy to approach with confidence.

Shikamaru placed himself a few steps behind Neji. Hinata waved at him, and he returned the salut with a move of his head and a smile. Then, he strolled his gaze over the disordered toys.

At seeing that he was going to wait there, Neji took his math book and started copying the math exercises in a paper.

Only a minute later, the playful voice of Hanabi filled the room.

-Hi!! -she screamed, as she approached running. She was wearing a brightfull costume from the Little Mermaid, with a lilac top and a green skirt that simulated a fish tail.

She stopped in front of Shikamaru and gave him a big smile.

-Hi. -the Nara answered, looking at her clothes. -Nice outfit.

-Thank you! I'm the Little Mermaid! -the girl answered very proud, lifting her arms and showing her costume.

-You certainly are. -the Nara told her, smiling. -Do you like the Little Mermaid movie?

-Yes!! -she walked with excitement to the table, climbed to a chair and grabbed a red crab toy. -I have Sebastian! -she added, pointing it at him.

-She saw the movie a few days ago, and now everything it's about the Little Mermaid. -Hinata said, looking at her sister with tenderness. -She's been singing the songs without stop.

Shikamaru laughed softly.

-You know the songs? -he asked, and then approached to the table too. Over it, there was a little yellow toy piano. He tried the  keys with one hand, and then turned his face to look at the little girl. -Do you know this one?

With one hand, he started playing a cute melody. The sound was a little strange, because it wasn't a real piano, but it sounded pretty good. Hanabi opened her mouth and widened her eyes at recognizing the tune.

The Nara laughed again, and turned his stare to the piano again.

-“Look at this stuff, isn't it neat...?” -he started singing with little a raspy but well tuned voice. -“Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?...”

The astonished child clapped her hands and jumped on her chair. Shikamaru laughed at her enthusiasm, and kept singing. Neji had stopped copying the homework and was staring at the boy, amazed. In the party he had learned that he knew how to play the piano, but he never imagined that he would have a nice voice like that. Next to him, Hinata and his uncle watched surprised too.

-“I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty, I've got whozits and whatzits galore...” -Shikamaru sang, giving the girl funny glances. -“You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty!! But who cares? No big deal, I want more...”

Hanabi started singing with him, completely thrilled. Then, she got off the chair and started dancing around, turning around just to look at the Nara, who now put boths hand over the piano.

-“Flippin' your fins, you don't get too far, legs are required for jumping, dancing. Strolling along down a, what's that word again?. Street...! Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun. Wanderin' free, wish I could be, part of that world...“

It was such a cute image. Neji had never seen his cousin so happy. He looked at Hinata, who was watching the little girl with an affection grin. She took a hand to her chest, moved. Then she caught Neji's eyes, and they smiled to each other.

-“Out of the sea... Wish I could be... Part of that world...“ -Shikamaru finished the song, pressing the keys with ability.

Hanabi gave tinny jumps, clapping her hands and cheering.

-Yaay! -she screamed.

-That was so cute! -Hinata exclaimed joining her hands.

-And unexpected. -Neji said smiling, looking at Shikamaru. -I’d never imagine that you would know a song like that one. And even the lyrics.

The Nara laughed softly.

-My mom is a doctor at a children's Hospital. -he explained. -When I go pick her up, that movie is always being played in the waiting room. I’ve seen it millions of times.

-Play it again! -Hanabi asked.

Hiashi laughed from his seat.

-Now she is going to drive you crazy every time she sees you. -he said.

Shikamaru laughed as well, and turned to the little girl.

-I’m sorry, I have to go home now. -he answered to her. -Maybe another time.

Hanabi made a sad face, but didn’t insisted. While Neji finished copying the homework, she approached to the table, climbed on a chair again, and took a colorful book.

-Look! -she exclaimed showing it to Shikamaru. -My daddy bought me a book about the Moon!

The boy grabbed it and opened it.

-It’s really nice. -he commented with a smile. -Here’s something cool: -he said, showing the opened book to her, in a page that had drawings of the Moon cycle. -the Moon phases. You can see them all from your backyard every night, and see how they change.

-Really?? -the child asked excited.-Can I see it now??

Shikamaru shook his head.

-Well, no. Today there’s a New Moon. That’s the only moment when you can’t see it. -he pointed to the black circle in the page. -It’s totally covered now. But you can start seeing it in a few days.

He gave the book back to the girl, and she stood immerse in the drawings.

-Here. -Neji said when he finally finished, handing the piece of paper to the Nara.

-Thanks. -Shikamaru answered, looking at the exercises with ressentiment. -I should go now.

He said goodbye to the family, who responded kindly, and both boys walked outside the house. They stopped next to the Nara’s car.

-I’m still stunned. -Neji told the other boy with a smile. -I didn’t knew you could play like that, less sing.

Shikamaru smiled as well, and shrugged a little.

-My mom plays. She teached me. -he replied. -And music it's cool. I like it. -Then, he lifted the paper with the math homework. -Thank you for this. I don’t want a third day in detention.

-You are welcome. -was the Hyuuga’s answer. -I’ll see you tomorrow at school.

The taller boy nodded, and turned to get inside the car.

-Sure. -he affirmed, and looked over his shoulder to gave Neji a side smile. -Good bye, Hyuuga.

He smiled too, admired of how easy was to exchange words with Shikamaru, and of how comfortable he felt with him.

-Good bye, Nara. -he replied, and then watched the car fade away in the distance.

That night, when he got to bed, he took his cellphone and saw in the center of the screen the message from Shikamaru. He opened it, and add the contact to his list. He couldn’t resist to go check the boy’s profile picture, and wasn’t surprised to find a bright exploding star in the middle of a starry sky. He realized they could both write to each other now,  though he was sure he would never dare to do it first. He went to sleep with memories of particles, galaxies and melodies swirling inside his mind.

  


*        *        *

 

He woke up the next day knowing that he would have to pass another day in detention with Shikamaru. When he arrived the classroom and approached to his seat, he gave the Nara a quick glance. The boy met his eyes instantly, and smiled faintly to him. Neji smiled back, but turned around fast. A strange tickling made his skin bristle.

Classes went on slowly, but they finally finished, and then he walked to the detention room like the previous day. There, he found Professor Kakashi, and saw Shikamaru leaning back on a chair again. Knowing that the bell was about to rang, Neji just said hello and stood standing. When the sound came seconds after, the teacher made a sign with his hand showing that they could leave, and the Nara got up to walk outside the room.

-Let’s go. -he said, and Neji followed him.

Like they had done one day ago, they went through the school almost empty halls, talking relaxedly. Neji told him that, judging for Mrs. Takenaka’s behavior that afternoon, he must had finally done his homework. The Nara confessed that he did, in the first minutes of class. Neji laughed of his laziness, and they kept chatting.

They walked through the training fields again, feeling the warm sun and the breeze. In many occasions, they just stood in silence, watching the clouds in the sky. It was so nice. He had only felt this relaxed and at ease with Tenten and his cousins. Somehow, the Nara’s loose attitude was contagious.

There was less than an hour less for them to be free to go. They were strolling down a hall when Shikamaru broke the silence:

-Remember the deposit I told you about? -he asked, and pointed to a room with his head. -It’s down this office in the basement.

-You really know your way in the School. -Neji commented.

-I’ve spent enough days in detention to go through it completely. -he answered.

The Hyuuga thought for a moment.

-Have you ever entered there, or just seen it? -he questioned, referring to the deposit.

Shikamaru widened his eyes a little, and fixed his stare ahead.

-I’ve entered in some occasions. -he answered.

Instantly Neji saw that something had slightly change on him, and he wanted to know more:

-“Some occasions?“ -he repeated. Shikamaru gave him a side look, and the Hyuuga felt like he could read him. -How?

The boy put on an innocent face first, but shortly after he relaxed again and explained.

-Once when we were in fifth grade, a teacher took away a book from me, and refused to give it back because I was reading at class and not paying attention to him. It wasn’t a very important book, actually, but I hated that he had took it from me. I guessed it could be in the deposit, so I tried to enter... -He made pause. -And I could.

Neji opened his eyes wide.

-Are you kidding? -he asked. -How did you do it?

The boy shrugged.

-I tried with a wire and it worked. -he said. -Regular lockers are not very complicated.

The Hyuuga just couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wondered if the younger boy wasn’t braggin.

-So you have broke into other places too? -he interrogated, but then realized about something else. -Wait. For what reason have you entered in the other occasions?

Shikamaru whined a little.

-Damn, you miss nothing. -he answered. -I don’t know, I’ve done it just to see what they kept there, and for fun. I guess I did it cause I could.

Neji smiled, feeling that the boy just kept surprising him more and more. Then, he remembered an episode from his childhood.

-When we were in third grade, Hinata lost her diary. -he told the Nara. -She cried for weeks, terrified of thinking that someone could find it and read it. I think she’s still worried about it. Have you not seen it there?

Shikamaru straightened his head.

-I’ve seen a girl’s diary. -he said. -I least I think that's what it was, because it had pink little flowers and a tiny padlock.

-That could be it! -Neji exclaimed. -I’ll tell her it’s probably there and she will relaxed at last.

-Or we could get it back and give it to her. -the Nara suggested.

-Are you crazy? -the older boy asked. -We could get caught.

Shikamaru laughed softly.

-I’ve never been caught yet. -he said. -Come, we have enough time to do it now.

After that, he fastened his step, heading to the end of the corridor. Neji reached him, and walked to his side, hesitating.

-I don’t know… -he doubted while they went down the stairs.

-I’ll be fine, trust me. -the other boy responded to him.

They stopped in front of the third door of the basement. Shikamaru pulled his cellphone out from his pocket, and lightly moved it’s cover. From under it, he took a little piece of wire. Then he looked at both sides, and inclined to introduce the metal in the locker.

-Do you always carry that? -Neji asked, amused.

-Of course. -the Nara answered honestly.

After less than twenty seconds, he had managed to open the door. Apparently he hadn’t lied before. Both boys entered the room and closed the door, in case somebody could see them.

Shikamaru turned the light on. The deposit wasn’t very large, but it was full of things: clothes and books forgotten by the students, video games and toys confiscated by the teachers, and a big box with tones of school ties. There were a couple of tall lockers, and numerous shelves with different objects. Neji took a look around.

-There. -the Nara said, pointing to a particular shelve.

Neji followed his hand, and saw a tiny pink book with flowers. He approached to it and grabbed it.

-I think this is it. -he commented with a smile. He was about to add something else, when they heard steps coming down the hall.

They looked at each other, hoping that whoever it was would pass and leave. But unfortunately, that didn’t happened. The steps stopped outside the door, and the sound of keys put them on alert. If someone entered and found them there, they would be in big troubles. Neji felt his heart rising.

When they heard a key turning in the lock, he felt like he was about to faint from fear. He had a impeccable record, and didn’t even wanted to imagine having to confess to his uncle that he had been caught doing something bad.

Luckily, Shikamaru acted fast. He turned the light off, walked to Neji, and took the diary from his hand to put it back in its place. Then, he grabbed the Hyuuga by the arm and pulled from him to the lockers. He opened one of them, and it was miraculously empty, though he probably knew that already. It was big enough for two people to enter a little tight. The younger boy quickly pushed him inside and followed him, closing the metal door. Neji was so terrified that he didn’t realized their bodies were touching slightly in the tiny space. An instant later, they heard someone turning the light on.

A calmed voice signed distractedly. He recognized the janitor, and listened to him moving things around. Apparently he hadn't noticed them. But the situation was just to tense for him. He felt his chest starting to close, and panicked. If he had an attack right there, they were definitely going to be discovered.

Under the thin light that came from the locker’s slits, he saw Shikamaru’s face reading his. They shared a concerned look, that only made Neji more nervous. The Nara realized he was about to lose control, and he blew air between his teeth to tell him to stay silent. The older boy wanted too, but didn’t felt capable of doing it. He was about to gasp, when a hand in his hip startled him.

Shikamaru shook his head, and the Hyuuga knew that he was also afraid of having their presence revealed. Neji tried as hard as he could to not make a sound, but he was already feeling that he couldn’t breathe. He closed his eyes, lowered his head, and resisted the pain in his chest.

Why didn’t the janitor go away already? He needed his inhalator, which was in his backpack, but if the used it then, the man could hear them. His desperation to breathe made him start shivering.

He felt a chill when a strong hand grabbed his nape. Firmly but with delicately, the Nara made him lift his head slowly. Neji opened his eyes, and found the younger boy’s face very close to his. If he hadn’t lost it already, that proximity would have took his breath away. Shikamaru nailed his eyes on his, maybe trying to keep him focused in the reality. He felt his fingers slightly pressing the back of his neck, and felt a tickle.

But it didn’t work. He needed air, fast. He placed his hands to his sides and pressed his palms against the cold metal surface. It was just a desesperated intent to hold on to something and don’t lose his mind. He felt dizzy because of the lack of breathing, and closed his eyes again, sensing his legs starting to weaken. Shikamaru must have realized it, because he move his hand from Neji’s hip to his waist, and then surrounded him with his arm, foreseeing that he could faint. He pressed the Hyuuya tightly against his body.

They were too close. The only time they had been this close had been at Ino’s party, when the Nara had grabbed him to kiss him back. In any other situation, he would have blushed noticeably, but he was just too frightened. He couldn’t ignore the pain that was growing in his lungs.

Slowly, Shikamaru’s hand traveled from his nape to his face, and he caressed Neji’s cheek softly with his thumb. The Hyuuga opened his eyes once more, and was surprised to find the younger boy even closer this time. His black penetrating eyes pierced his, and his warm breath against his mouth made him briefly forget about anything else.

The Nara took a deep silent breath, expecting that Neji would be able to copy him. But he couldn’t. He trembled violently in the embrace, and Shikamaru’s grip on his waist got stronger. What happened next made him oblivious of where they were.

The younger boy approached slowly, until their faces were just inches away. Almost like a ghost, he put his lips over the Hyuuga’s, barely touching them. He took another deep breath, opened his mouth, and let the air roll out, sofly hitting Neji’s face. In no moment he broke their stare.

The faint touch of the other’s lips over his sent an electricity wave to his body. The older boy inhaled sharply. It was because of the surprise, of course, but it worked. Neji’s lungs ached, but started functioning again.

Finally, they heard the janitor turning the lights off and closing the door behind him.

They were alone again, and out of danger. They hadn’t been discovered. But despite that, they didn’t came out of the locker. Instead, they kept looking at each other in the almost complete darkness.

Neither of them moved. Neji was now able to breath, and started panting agitatedly. He didn’t drove his head back, and Shikamaru didn’t removed his hands from him. Seconds passed, but none said a word. They just stood there, feeling the proximity.

In the gloom, he saw the Nara’s eyes slowly going down to look at his mouth. He didn’t know what to do, and couldn’t imagine what the boy might be thinking. Short moments later, he perceived Shikamaru’s breathe accelerating, and the arm with which he was holding Neji trembled a little.

What was happening? He didn’t have time to respond to that, when the boy in front of him leaned closer and joined their lips.

He was petrified. They hadn’t drink anything that time, so there was no way to think that he didn’t know what he was doing. With extreme surprise, he felt the Nara pressing their mouths harder, and inhaling sharply through his nose. Leaning forward with no anticipation, the taller boy parted his lips with his tongue, and introduced the wet muscle in his mouth.

Neji couldn’t repress a stunned cry.

Apparently, that activated something in Shikamaru's mind, because he widened his eyes and deepened the kiss, pressing him against the locker. The arm at the Hyuuga’s back retreated a little, and he felt a wild hand strongly caressing his side. With his other hand, the boy grabbed Neji’s face tighter, and rampantly stroked their tongues. He kissed him fiercely, like he had completely lost control of his actions.

The Hyuuga didn’t stop him. He was still astonished. He closed his eyes while he felt the aggressive kiss melt his sanity.

Suddenly, they heard the door opening again, and the Nara broke their lips contact with a scared face. They stood frozen, listening to the janitor come inside the room a second time. They looked at each other, not moving at all.

After a minute, he man left. The two boys let out a shivering breathe. Something in Shikamaru’s face told him that he had just realized of what he had done.

The Nara moved back with a terrified expression. Seconds later, he opened the locker door and step outside of it. Neji followed him, and they looked at each other in the darkness. But the shame was now impossible to hide. They diverted their eyes quickly.

Without saying a word, they got out of the deposit and headed to the School entrance, walking fats and nervously. They stood outside the big door, waiting for Professor Kakashi, looking in opposite directions. When the last bell finally rang and the teacher appeared in the threesold, they parted away without even saying goodbye.

 

 

**Hi!! Sorry for the wait, I went to visit my parents to my home town and couldn't find time to write. But I'm back now so I will start posting more frequently! Next part will be from Shikamaru's POV.**

**Thank you all for your encouraging comments!**

**Till next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Shikamaru’s POV**

 

It was 3am. The glow of the screen was the only light that illuminated the room. Shikamaru aimed his gun to an enemy's head and prepared to shoot. But before he could do it, a bullet hit him from behind, and he died instantly.

-Fuck. -he cursed, taking his headphones off and tossing them over the desk. 

He had been playing that stupid game all night, but he kept getting kill. It was because he couldn't completely focus. Images of that afternoon didn't stop repeating in his head: Neji's big surprised eyes when he had leaned to rub their lips together wouldn't leave his mind.

And then it had gotten worse. He had already realized that his hands in the boy's waist and face were doing something strange to him, but he decided to ignored it, thinking that it was just the fear of being caught. But if that had been the case, he would've drove back in the instant the janitor left the room. 

He didn't, though. He stayed in the exact same position, feeling the Hyuuga's agitated breath against his face. The situation had been so deam intimate, that his mind had get confused. And then, a quick glance to Neji's lips had made his brain stop working. 

He had no idea of what part of his body had sent the order to move forward. But he simply hadn't been able to fight the impulse. His head had gotten so blurry that he didn't realized what he was doing until they heard the door opening again.

Shikamaru reclined in his chair and took his hands to his head. He was so freaking confused. Why had he acted like that? He had never been attracted to a boy before, and he was absolutely sure that he liked girls. But then why had he completely lost control with Neji's proximity?

“Stupid teenager hormones“, he thought. Because that was the only explanation he could find. That his adolescent body had just turned on with any physical contact. 

He left his arms fall down and closed his eyes. It had not been a month since the beginning of classes, but he already had many memories impressed in his mind. And most of them were about the Hyuuga. He remembered the boy's svelte and dedicated body moving around the rehearsal room, with great flexibility and discipline. Shikamaru had admired him while he practiced, thinking that such an incredible control could only be the result of years of training. But then, when he had seen the boy dance, he understood that he had something else that couldn't be learnt. Real talent. The way his slender figure followed the music with amazing intensity had made the Nara speechless. 

He shook his head. So what if Neji was good at dancing? Yes, it was a nice thing to watch, but it was nothing to get obsessed with. Nevertheless, only he knew how many times he had recall the images of the Hyuuga moving gracefully while he wait to fall asleep in his bed.

Like an evil reaffirmation, the song Neji had danced that day started sounding in his head. Then, he remembered the boy's agitated breath and his cheeks red with exertion after he had finished, and that made a strange chill run through his skin.

“Damn it, stop“, he told himself with great alarm. He had to get that ridiculous thoughts out of his mind by tomorrow, when he would see the Hyuuga again in School. He had never wished so much for the weekend to come.

He must sleep, but he was afraid of the thoughts that could appear in his mind when he were in bed surrounded by the darkness. At the same time, he didn't have many things he could do awake: he couldn't play video games, he couldn't read, he couldn't even concentrate in a documentary. His brain was just too accelerated.

He signed, realizing he wasn't going to sleep at all that night.

  
  


*        *        *

 

Like every day, he got to the classroom before anyone. He was really tired, and in any other occasion, he would've simply laid on his desk and sleep. But he was too nervous to do that. Seeing Neji again made him feel ashamed and pressured.

When Choji arrived he was surprised of finding his best friend awake. They talked briefly while the rest of their classmates started appearing.

When he caught a glance of the Hyuuga's figure entering the room next to his cousin, Shikamaru turned his face to the window. He didn't dare to look at him.

For the first time in years, he didn't fall asleep at any moment, and actually worked in class. It was the only way to get distracted. But despite that, he couldn't help to give Neji several glances during the whole morning. He watched his chocolate hair falling down his skinny back, and wondered many times what he boy might think about him. Would he be mad? They had just started to get along, but now everything seemed uncertain. After all, the Hyuuga had totally freaked out about the kiss they had shared at Ino's party. If he had gotten like that just for that simple event, he must be ten times more alarmed about what had happened the last day.

During lunch, he was very cautious of placing himself with his back to the older boy. He wasn't ready to met his stare. Trying to look unworried, he listened to his friends joking around and spoke very little.

After classes, he walked to one of the rooms to met with Professor Asuma. They had Chess Club that day, and he wondered if he would be able to concentrate in the game despite of his turbulent thoughts.

Shikamaru arrived to the classroom and found the teacher already there. They still had no more members, so they played against each other during the whole hour, as always.

-Jesus, how is that I can never beat you? -Asuma asked, watching the board with confusion. They had played three games, and Shikamaru had won them all. -I can believe you had never played before.

-Maybe you're a great teacher. -the boy commented, distracted.

The man rose his eyebrows, sensing that there was something strange in him.

-Are you okay? -he interrogated. -You look more distracted than usual.

Shikamaru shrugged.

-I'm fine. -he replied. -Just sleepy.

Asuma let out a soft laugh, but then got a little serious.

-Many teachers are mad at you for sleeping during classes. -he said. -You should be careful, or you could get suspended.

The Nara frowned slightly.

-Just for sleeping? -he asked. -Shouldn't they have a better reason for that?

The professor laughed oppenly at his lack of concern.

-Hey, it's just a warning. -he answered. -Wouldn't hurt you to be more responsible.

The boy didn't change his attitude, and simply started accommodating the pieces for another game.

When they finished playing, he walked to his car, avoiding the hall that took to the rehearsal room. If Neji was there, he definitely didn't want to see him. He went back home, relieved of the fact that he had been able to avoid the boy all day.

  
  
  


**Asuma’s POV**

 

He watched the young Nara leave the room, and then stared at the board in front of him again. The boy had defeated almost all his pieces before winning, like he always did. But Asuma had only been able to caught the ones Shikamaru had decided to sacrifice. It was like he was tons of steps ahead of him. He took a hand to his face and caressed his chin slowly, thinking.

There was something special in that kid. He had known it since the first day of Chess Club. The boy didn’t know how to play back then, so Asuma had taught him. And after he did, he had never lost a game. How was it possible that he could get the rules so fast?

He remembered a conversation he had heard at the teachers room in the last weeks:

“-He is a slacker.“ -Mrs. Takenaka had said. “-We should suspend him or something“.

“-We can’t do that just for sleeping“ -had been Kakashi’s answer. 

“-I have sent him to detention many times,“ -Orochimaru had added. “-But he doesn’t seem to care“.

“-We should make him repeat the year“ -Mrs. Takenaka had kept insisting.

“-I’d like to do that“ -Tsunade had interrupted. “-But he has great grades in all exams. We can’t make a good student go back a year without a reason“

“-He has great calcifications in my subject, too. The highest of the class“ -Orochimaru had spoke again. “-Though I don’t understand how, if he is always sleeping“

“-That’s because he cheats“ -Mrs. Takenaka had affirmed. “-I don’t know how he does it, but he does.“

No, that didn’t seemed likely to him. Shikamaru didn’t look like the kind of boy that would care enough for a subject to cheat. It was like he simply wasn’t interested in anything of what happened inside the classroom. Asuma had seen that he got bored at his clases, so he had tried to make them more entertaining. But it was hard when you were teaching Geography. He just couldn’t help the boy from falling asleep, but he knew that punishing him wasn’t the solution. He had to find out why he was so bored all the time.

He had very good grades at his exams too. Perfect, to be honest. And there was no way that he was cheating, because Asuma had watched him carefully. That could only mean that he was smart. Maybe very, very smart. He started forming a theory in his head, that seemed to explain the situation pretty well. He decided he will discuss it with the principal the next day. He would probably be able to convince him. After all, the man was his father.

  
  


*        *        *

  
  


**Shikamaru’s POV**

 

He managed to stay away from Neji during the next two days. When Friday finally arrived, he was extremely relieved. Now the weekend would start, and he would have enough time to clear his thoughts. Maybe he could take his father to the park, like he did sometimes, and let his eyes get lost in the moving clouds, which always relaxed him.

The first two subjects had passed, and now they were at Literature class. Professor Kakashi was dictating them a fragment of a book to analyze, and the students were copying it in silence, when suddenly the classroom door opened. Asuma’s figure appeared in the threshold.

-Excuse me, Kakashi. -he said with a friendly smile. -I need to borrow one of your students for a little while, if you don’t mind.

The teacher arched his eyebrows with his usual disinterested attitude.

-Sure. -he answered. -Go ahead.

Asuma nodded gratefully, and then looked towards the back of the room.

-Shikamaru? -he asked. -Could you come with me? You can leave your things here.

The Nara rose his head, definitely not expecting that. Damn, what had he done now? Was he going to be suspended or sanctioned in some way? The rest of his classmates turned to look at him, probably thinking the same thing. He swallowed and got up to walk to the door.

Once outside, he looked at his professor, who was in a suspicious good humor. The man started walking, and Shikamaru followed him.

-What did I do? -the boy questioned.

Asuma laughed calmly.

-Why do you think you did something bad? -was the man’s answer. -Maybe this is about something good.

The Nara lifted an eyebrow, not convinced.

-Yeah, right. -he said ironically. -Taking a student out in the middle of a class almost never leads to something good.

Unconcerned, Asuma laughed again.

-The Principal wanted to be present when I told you this, but we will save time if I explain it to you on the way. -the Professor explained. -I have a theory about why you keep falling asleep during classes, and it's not to brag, but I’m pretty sure I’ve nailed it. If I’m right, things could get very interesting around here.

Shikamaru was completely lost. A theory about why he kept falling asleep? Well, he already had an explanation, and it was that School was lame. What could have Asuma supposed? That he was narcoleptic?

-Don’t worry. -the teacher added at seeing his confused expression. -I would explain it better to you in the Principal’s office.

Shit, things didn’t look good. He had only been in the Principal’s office once, when he was thirteen, after he had gotten into a fight with some older boys that were bothering Ino. He couldn't imagine a positive reason to be taken there.

When they reached their destination, Asuma entered without knocking, which told Shikamaru that he was being expected. He followed the man, hesitating.

-Good morning, sir. -the Professor greeted respectfully, and then gestured to the boy behind him. -Here he is.

Principal Sarutobi was sitting at his desk. He looked at the Nara from over his glasses, and slowly rose his head.

-Oh, Nara, Shikamaru. -he said, studying him. -Do you already know why you are here, boy?

Shikamaru felt fear, suddenly thinking that he might have discovered that he had broke into the deposit many times. But for some reason the man didn’t look mad. He shook his head as a response.

-Al right, sit down. -the Principal added, pointing at two chairs in front of his desk. Asuma approach and occupied one of them, so the boy did the same. -I don’t know if you are aware of this, but many teachers complain about your lack of interest in the signatures, and most specifically about the fact that you are almost always sleeping in classes. I was considering suspending you, just like a call of attention to your parents… -Shikamaru felt a chill running down his spine. -But then Professor Asuma came to me with an interesting thought. He pointed at me that you have very high grades in all signatures, which is strange for someone who is practically not present at classes. Then he told me about your great skills in chess, and he came to the conclusion that you could be a gifted kid.

The Nara opened his eyes wide, and kept silent for a few seconds.

-What? -he asked in complete confusion.

He heard Asuma laughing again, and turned his face to look at him.

-You’ll see, boy. -he man started explaining. -Grades like yours are only achieved by very applied students, which you’re not. So, it’s strange that you can get that kind of results with so little effort. I started thinking that there could be something special about you when I taught you to play chess, and you got it perfectly in just minutes. Then, when I heard the other teachers complaining about your constant sleepiness, I remembered something I had read about gifted kids a few years ago: that when they’re forced to function at the same rhythm of normal children, they get bored and lost interest. I think that could be the situation here.

Shikamaru frowned and looked at his professor as if he was insane.

-I’m sorry, sir. -he said, incapable of believing what he was hearing. -But I think I’m just lazy.

-That wouldn't explain your grades. -the Principal interrupted. -It is a long shot, but I think Asuma could be right.

The Nara lowered his eyes for a moment, thinking. He considered himself pretty smart, that was true, but to say that he was a gifted kid sounded like too much. He rose his head again and asked:

-And how do you plan to prove it?

The two adults shared a complice look.

-Do you know what an IQ Test is? -Asuma questioned, looking at the boy.

Off course he knew. But that was ridiculous. Only a few people were able to take that test, after a recommendation. The agency that made them wasn’t going to let any unknown kid try it.

-Yes… -he answered, doubting.

-Well, if you agree, we would like you to take it. -Asuma told him with a friendly smile.

Shikamaru looked at the Principal, who nodded. Was this really happening? He passed his gaze from one man to the other, still not understanding.

-I don’t know… -he said. -What if I fail it, or if I get a very low score?

His professor waved a hand in the air, dismissing his worries.

-Nothing. -he replied. -You’ll simply get back to your normal life. The other teachers will probably make fun of me, but I prefer to take that risk than not knowing.

Great, now he felt even worse. Shikamaru liked Asuma a lot. He was his favorite teacher, because he had never treated him with superiority just for being a kid. When they talked and played chess, he felt like he was with a friend, an adult friend. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint him, or to make him look like a fool in front of his colleagues. 

-Having a gifted kid among its students it’s a very good thing for any School. -Mr. Sarutobi said, interrupting his thoughts. -That is why we don’t want to let this opportunity pass. If it turns out that Asuma is wrong, things will continue as usual. We won't mention it to anybody, you can be sure of that.

-So. -Asuma said, looking at him with hopeful eyes. -What do you say?

Shikamaru stared at both men. He didn’t seem to have many options, if he wanted to make his teacher happy. So he sighed, and answered:

-Fine. 

Asuma made a fist with his hand.

-Great! -he exclaimed. -Let’s do it right now then!

They made him walk to the empty teacher’s room. There, over one of the tables, he saw a pile of papers and a pen. He sat in front of them, and looked at his teacher, who was standing next to him.

-When you’re done, just let the test over the table. I’ll be waiting for you outside. -the man told him, and then put a hand on his shoulder. -Take all the time you need. Good luck, boy!

After saying this, he left the room and closed the door.

Shikamaru looked at the papers in front of him. There were about fifty pages. He had never done and exam so long, and couldn’t help to feel nervous and pressured. Resigned, he took the pen and started with the first question.

After a while, he was happy to discover that the test was actually very challenging. It had many math exercises, which he liked, and a big amount of puzzles. He had never been so entertained with an exam before, and he solved every item with an enthusiasm that he didn’t know he had. It took him more than two hours, but he finished it. When he got out of the room and met with Asuma, the man told him that the results would be ready in a week. He was free to return to his class now, so he walked through the halls until he reached his classroom. Lunch had already passed, and the rest of the students were in the middle of the last subject. He stepped in and went to his seat.

Choji interrogated him about were he had been, but he said it was something about Chess Club. He didn’t know why, but he wasn’t sure of wanting to tell anybody what had just happened. 

After that last subject they had Gym class, and then, the long expected weekend would begin. He went to the locker room with the rest of the boys, where they changed their uniforms for the gym clothes. At all moment, he kept his back to Neji, still not wanting to meet his stare.

Once outside, they started with the usual warm-up, running around the football field. Well, the rest of the class ran, he just walked lazily as always and jogged a little from time to time. He finished the last, and approached to the group, where the class was listening to Professor’s Guy instructions. He didn’t see Neji walking near him to grab a bottle of water from the ground, and the boy apparently didn’t see him either, because when he stood up, their eyes met, and they both took a step back.

Shikamaru’s heart hit hard against his chest. This was the first time they were face to face after what had happened in the deposit. Damn, he should’ve paid more attention to stay away from the boy.

Instantly, they diverted their eyes and looked in opposite directions, trying to act normal.

-We will stretch in groups of two. -Guy said. -Then we will do some physical training. Pair up with the person next to you.

Fuck. Neji was the only person next to him. He went still as iron, expecting that the Hyuuga would pair with Sakura, who was at his right. But the girl had already started stretching with Hinata. Both boys stood standing for a few seconds, not knowing how to escape from that situation.

-What are you waiting for, kids? -Guy asked them, at seeing that they were not starting. -Pair up and begin!

“Shit, shit, shit“, was all he heard in his head. Stretching together meant touching, and he definitely wasn’t ready to do that. He didn’t move, waiting for Neji to do it first. He gave the boy a side glance, and saw that he had his lips pressed in a nervous expression. So he was feeling as uncomfortable as him. 

Finally, the Hyuuga sat in the ground with his back to him, and extended his legs ahead, expecting that Shikamaru would place himself behind him. That was good, at least they wouldn’t have to look at eachother. 

The Nara kneeled behind the boy, and put both hands in Neji’s back, like the rest of the groups were doing. Even through the white fabric, the touch send a wave of heat from his palms to his arms, and then to the rest of his body. He contacted his face, trying to stay cool, and slowly pushed forward.

The Hyuuga’s back arched with no effort, and the boy took the tip of his feet easily. Damn, he was flexible. Letting out a deep breath, Neji went even lower under Shikamaru’s pression.

After a few seconds, the Nara moved back and the older boy straightened. Then, he opened his legs wide, getting an opening that not even the girls in the group could achieve. He waited to Shikamaru to put his hands in his back again, and he did. Very slowly, he started pushing again, though it didn’t seem like the Hyuuga needed it at all. He went so low that his forehead touched the grass.

The younger boy saw his classmate’s ponytail sliding over his shoulder, and revealing a white and delicate nape. He nailed his eyes on it, suddenly remembering the smell of Neji’s skin blurring his senses inside the deposit locker. At the memory, his hands started to burn with the contact, and he felt a terrifying sensation at his guts.

“No, block that away“, he ordered himself, and lowered his eyes. But it wasn’t a good idea, because he caught a glance of the Hyuuga’s pale skin under his t-shirt, at the beginning of his back. With horror, he felt his member throb inside his pants, starting to get erected. 

He immediately removed his hands and move back. Neji gave him a look over his shoulder but said nothing, and he simply straightened to stand up.

-Your turn. -he told him, not meeting his eyes.

Shikamaru stood up as well.

-I’m fine, thank you. -he answered.

Luckily, the boy didn’t insisted. They stood standing next to each other, wating. The wind brought the smell of Neji’s hair to him, and he felt his erection getting stiffer.

“What the hell is wrong with me?!“, he asked himself with great alarm. Fortunately, his pants were quite wide, because he was completely hard now. 

After an eternal minute, the rest of the class finished stretching. 

-Now make a line, and one by one you will complete this circuit. -Professor Guy instructed, pointing to a path of car wheels placed in the ground.

Shikamaru didn’t move, and the line of students begun forming in front of him. He was the last one, and Neji was standing right in front of him. He caught the boy’s smell in the air again, and clenched his fist to keep control. His erection simply wouldn’t surrender.

-C’mon, faster! -Naruto screamed ahead of the Hyuuga. -I want it to be my turn!

-Stop pushing! -Sakura told him, and hit him with her elbow, making him go back a step.

The Uzumaki hit Neji with his back, making him crash against Shikamaru. The Nara felt with fear how the older boy’s bum got pressed against his hard shaft.

Immediately, the Hyuuga turned around and looked at him with eyes and mouth opened in astonishment. Shikamaru felt his cheeks burn, probably because he was blushing intensely. He just stood there, frozen, staring at the boy in front of him with a terrified expression.

Seconds passed. “Say something, say something!“, he told himself. But his mind was blank. He just couldn't find any words. “Then get out of there! Just run. RUN!“

Panicking, he turned around and started walking fast to the locker room. He needed to get out of there and put as much distance as possible between them.

-Where are you going, Shikamaru?! -he heard Professor Guy asking behind him.

-To the bathroom, I’ll be right back! -he answered, not even turning around.

He got to the locker room, and cursed in frustration.

-FUCK! -he exclaimed.

How the hell was he going to go back now? He was so ashamed and scared. He thought there was no way of screwing things up more than he already had. But he was wrong, so wrong. His stupid body had betrayed him.

He looked at himself in the mirror, and find out that he was red as fire, and sweating. The aghast boy opened the tap of the sink and washed his face with cold water. There were still forty minutes of class left. He couldn’t hide there for that long. He had to go back. So he waited until his erection finally disappeared, and leaved the room with his head down. 

During the rest of the time, he stood as far away from Neji as he could. The way the Hyuuga had looked at him just minutes ago still gave him chills. When Professor Guy finally told them to go hit the showers, he tried to make small talk with his friends, to let Neji get to the locker room first. He didn’t wanted to see him undressing, nor get undress in front of him either. He already knew he couldn't trust his body.

After five minutes, they started heading to the bathroom. Lee and Neji were already in the showers, so he was able to get his clothes off in peace. He tied a towel around his waist, and walked until he came around the wall behind which were the showers. He would lock himself in one enough time for the Hyuuga to leave, and only then he would came out.

He approached to one and heard that it was off, so he lifted a hand and moved the curtain. But what he saw made him speechless.

Inside, Neji was standing in the middle of the little space, drying his hair with a towel, and completely naked. The boy startled a little and stopped moving, nailing his wide eyes on him. Shikamaru went totally still, and felt his cheeks burning again. How could he have such a bad luck? He knew he had to escape from there right now, but he was petrified. He just stood there, grabbing the curtain, feeling the steam hitting his face, and perceiving water drops sliding from the Hyuuga’s body. Yet more terrified than before, the started breathing hard. 

Neji didn’t say a word. He just kept looking at him, immobile. The Nara wished he would scream or something, because that could make his brain react. But he didn’t, and he just stayed paralyzed.

“Look away, look away!“, he screamed in his head. But instead of doing that, his eyes did exactly the opposite: they started going down, watching the Hyuuga’s slender figure. His body was small, but sculpted. His chest looked smooth, his stomach firm, and his arms dedicated but strong. His skin was of an unique pearly white, that made him look like a perfect statue. Shikamaru’s sight kept descending, until he reached the boy’s pelvis. There, his pallid member hung relaxedly.The Nara caught the silhouette of Neji’s butt peeking out from one of his side, and couldn’t help to think that he must have a prominent and firm rear, result of his years of dancing. 

He was completely hypnotized by the image in front of him. So much, that he didn’t paid attention to the fact that his towel was slowly sliding up at the height of his thigh. He continued watching the Hyuuga’s worked legs, breathing harder with each passing second.

He went out of his stupor when he heard Neji inhaling with surprise. Shikamaru rose his eyes to look at his face, and saw that the boy had blushed violently, and that he was staring at the Nara’s crotch. So he look down, and discovered with horror that he had a strong erection again, that was very clear under his towel. 

He felt ashamed and nervous again, and a knot formed in his throat. The Hyuuga was seeing for the second time that he was getting aroused by him. There was no way that something like that could happen to him twice in the same day! It was like if the universe was trying to make him look like a disgusting perv.

He clenched his teeth and looked up again. Neji met his eyes, and both boys stared at each other in awkward silence. But suddenly, Shikamaru heard the voices of his friends approaching to where he was. He turned his head to his left, right in time to see Kiba’s feet appearing behind the wall. 

In a very short moment they will be there, and they would be able to see him. They would definitely notice his erection, and he couldn’t imagine anything more humiliating than that. He had to get out of sight, fast. His thoughts swirled, confounding him. Moving to another shower would take to much time, and he had to disappear in less than two seconds. So his body moved by itself to avoid the shame. He made a step inside Neji’s shower, turned around, and closed the curtain. In the moment the others would enter a shower, he would immediately got out of there.

But they didn’t. The stupid bastards stood in the corridor, joking around and laughing.

“Idiots! What are you doing?!“, Shikamaru cursed them in his head. The Hyuuga was directly behind him, and he didn’t dare to turn around to face him.

They were both naked, locked in a very tiny space, and in some way, alone. It was just too intimate. He felt so exposed that he realized that his body was shaking slightly. He had never been in such an uncomfortable situation in his life.

Time passed, but the other kids didn’t move from their place. Why were they taking so long? There was nothing he could tell them to make them leave, so he was completely trapped. He heard the low sound of panting, and at first thought it was him. But then he realized it was coming from the boy behind him. Neji was breathing hard too, and that was a bad signal. What if he had an asthma attack right there? They would have to get out of the shower, and that would mean being caught. He had to do something to prevent that catastrophe.

Inch by inch, Shikamaru started turning his head to a side to look over his shoulder. The first thing his eyes saw was Neji’s blushed face. He was still holding the towel against his hair, which fell to one side of his body over his chest. The Nara felt attracted to that forbidden image like a magnet. He kept turning his head, and parviced the boy’s torax going up and down with an accelerated rhythm. If the Hyuuga lost his breath, they would be in big trouble. 

Shikamaru rotated his body a little more, and caught a glance of something moving at Neji’s pelvis. So he looked down, and find something he definitely didn’t expected: now, the boy had also a hard and throbbing erection.

That sent a shock of electricity to his brain. Neji was aroused too? How was it possible? And what the hell did it meant? He let out a heavy exaltation, and felt his heartbeat rising and his member shaking. Everything was just too confusing and exciting at the same time.

Not being able to control himself, he turned around completely and stared at the Hyuuga’s evident erection. Was he causing that? The thought made his skin bristle. He nailed his eyes on Neji’s, and was marveled with the combination of his red cheeks and his lilac pupils. 

Both boys stared at each other, not saying a word. They’s breathings were deep and quick, and their bodies were shivering with the tension. He had only controlled himself to that point because he thought that the Hyuuga would never correspond his impulses. But for what he could see, the boy was in the same state as him. He had tried so hard during the last days to block that sensations away, telling himself that they were wrong and weird. But now that he saw a tiny light, there was no way he could obligate his body to stay cool.

Neji’s blushed face, his mouth opened and panting, the steam hitting his wet skin, it was just too much. Shikamaru felt his brain melting, and realized that in that moment his mind was no longer taking the decisions.

Narrowing his eyes on the Hyuuga, and not knowing what the hell he was doing, he made a few steps and got closer to the naked body in front of him. Neji shook a little when he approached, but didn’t move back. He lowered his arms, still holding the towel in his left hand, an simply looked at him. The Nara stopped when he felt his warm respiration against his face.

Once more, his eyes roamed the small body. He had never been attracted to a guy before, but he couldn’t deny that Neji was beautiful. His skin looked so tasty that Shikamaru wanted to lick every inch of it. He watched the boy’s erection moving slightly between them, almost touching his, which was still trapped under the towel. He looked up when he sensed the Hyuuga shivering at their proximity. 

Neji’s eyes reflected a repressed arousal that sent a chill down the Nara’s spine. Those thin, pale lips were screaming to be kissed, and he wasn’t going to ignore them. Feeling like if a fierce beast had taken control of his actions, he licked his mouth, turned his sanity off, and leaned forward. 

Their lips met, and in his ears a sharp sound exploited. The surface was soft and delicious, and it brought him back to the afternoon in the deposit. He had assured himself millions of times that he hadn’t really enjoyed that moment, but for the way his body was reacting now, he had been lying. Neji was the most delightful creature he had ever seen.

The Hyuuga let out an almost inaudible cry of surprise, that was covered by the noise of showers turning on at both sides of them. That barely there sound sent sparkles to Shikamaru’s brain, and he took another step. Their stomachs and erections touched, making both boys shiver. Neji’s skin was worm from the previous shower, and he felt the water over it wetting him. The contact of their bare bodies made him lost, and he stuck his tongue out to dive it into the Hyuuga’s mouth. 

With another low groan, the boy let him in. As if they had been waiting for a moment like that one for years, they kissed wildly, panting even harder. Shikamaru’s hands traveled to the Hyuuga’s hips and he drove him closer. Their erections rubbed through the towel fabric. He felt timid fingers touching his sides when the Hyuuga dropped his towel, and he had the urge to make the older boy lost with him. He walked forward, until Neji’s back hit the wall. There, he pressed their bodies fiercely while deepening the kiss.

The way that wet tongue was willingly sliding over his was making him insane. They breathed hard into each other’s mouth, tasting the air that escaped from them. He had never been so aroused in his life, and the rubbing of their lengths through the towel only increased it. He pressed Neji harder against the wall, while his crazy hands wandered the small and beautiful body. 

Letting himself carry by the arousal too, the Hyuuga took his hand to Shikamaru’s chest, and then to his shoulders, and then to his neck. He hugged him strongly, lettin the younger boy submit him. Trying to make the sensation in their crotches increase, the Nara rolled his hips violently, thrusting them hard. With the motion, the towel at his hip got untied and slid down, falling in the wet floor. When that happened, both erected shafts crashed together, and they had to brake the kiss to moan in a whisper.

They were naked and kissing in a School shower, surrounded by their classmates who had no idea of what was happening inside that cubicle. That should’ve scared him, but instead, it got him more and more excited. The adrenaline of being caught only increased the heat coming from their bodies.

They broke the kiss, and he saw Neji looking down to watch their erections pressed together. He did the same,  joining their foreheads, and slowed down the rhythm of his thrusts. They watched their lengths rubbing against each other, sliding deliciously with the sticky liquid that was coming out from them. They gasped at the exciting image and at the wonderful sensation.

Shikamaru had never been with a boy like this, so he had no idea of that to do. But he needed to do something to make the friction between their shafts heighten. He wanted to press himself against that pale erection even more. So he lowered one hand, and slid it between their bodies, grabbing both throbbing members. He squished them a little, making Neji let out an almost silent moan. That made his senses vibrate, and he rose his head again to sunk his tongue in the Hyuuga’s mouth. Sliding his other hand behind the boy’s back and grabbing him strongly, he made them both go in and out of his grasp in a growing cadence. The Hyuuga’s hands flew from his neck to the sides of the cubicle, accidentally turning on the shower that was in the right wall. Instantly, hot water started falling over Shikamaru’s back, soaking his hair and his body. 

But that didn’t stopped him. Actually, if a bomb had exploded right there from out of nothing, neither that would’ve made him stop. He just wanted to make that intoxicating feeling even more intense. 

He felt Neji’s legs shaking, and he wondered if the boy could be near the edge. That only got him more aroused, and he deepened the kiss and the movement of their erections against his hand. The Hyuuga took his fingers to the sides of Shikamaru’s hips and dove his nails in his skin. The slight pain was like a signal that told him that the older boy was about to collapse. That simple thought blurred his mind and made the lowest part of his stomach contract. Breathing heavily against Neji’s opened mouth, he came with a silent moan, while the Hyuuga did the same with a delightful groan.

Their releases soaked the little space between them as their bodies relaxed. Shikamaru leaned his forehead against the Hyuuga’s again, and they closed their eyes, letting the orgasm fade away slowly.

The Nara watched the darkness behind his lids, while his breath slowed down. He could feel Neji’s respiration against his face starting to get calm too. What had just happened was too surreal. He had never imagine that, after what he had done in the deposit, things could take that path, especially when he had planned exactly the opposite. But they had, and he felt the cascade of turbulent thoughts and unanswered questions coming back to his mind. 

They opened their eyes at the same time. Shikamaru drove his head back a little, and reality finally hit him: they had just did something that could surely be described as sex, in School, and in the presence of their classmates. They had played with fire, and they could still get burned. Neji’s big pupils reflected the same sudden thought. The water that was falling over them wasn’t enough to wash away the concern nor the fear.

In that moment, Kiba’s voice resounded outside.

-Yo, Shikamaru! -he screamed. -What are you doing? You’re taking like, forever! C’mon!

Without making a sound or breaking their stare, Neji turned the shower off. He had to get out of there or the others would start to suspect something weird.

-I’m coming! -Shikamaru answered, and slowly moved back from the Hyuuga, letting the tips of his fingers touch the pale skin for a little longer.

Then he kneeled down to take his soaked towel from the floor, and lifted his hand to grab the curtain. He turned around one more time to watch at the boy behind him. Neji simply looked at him back, and they shared a few last seconds of silence. There was no way of knowing what the Hyuuga was thinking, but he didn’t have the time to find out. Finally, he walked out of the shower completely naked and went to meet with his friends.

-Dude, what happen to your towel? -Naruto asked, watching the wet thing in his hand.

-I dropped it. -he simply said, and fastened to put his clothes on.

After a few minutes he got to his car, but he found it impossible to simply go back home. His skin and hair were still wet, like a reminder of what had just happened. As he recalled the previous events, he could almost feel Neji’s slippery tongue in his mouth. Not being able to stop thinking, he wondered the city for about two hours, not knowing what to do with himself. He couldn’t understand what was going on with him. Less than a month ago, he was completely sure of being straight. But now, he had a thousand of questions turning around in his head. Neji was a boy. A beautiful boy, but a boy at last, and he had no idea of why he felt so attracted to him. Realizing that he wasn’t going to find the answer in the streets, he headed to his house, expecting that the weekend break would help him ease his mind.

  
  


*        *        *

 

On Saturday afternoon, he convinced his father of going out to the park to spend some time outside. The man needed to get some air, because lately he was spending a lot of hours in the house, and Shikamaru definitely needed the distraction. He had slept almost nothing the previous night, remembering the hot scene in the School showers. There was nothing he could do to take the image of the naked Hyuuga panting hard between his arms, and the marks of the boys nails at his hips didn’t let him forget it.

He settled the car to go, and waited for his father. The man walked slowly to where he was, helping himself with his cane. He had started to used it recently, because it was getting hard for him to keep his balance. Shikamaru knew his dad state would only get worse with time, so he tried to make him go out all he could before it happened. When they were ready, they waved her mother goodbye, and headed to the park.

Once there, he helped his father get off the vehicle, and walked him to a bench. The man sat and opened a book, like he always did. Usually Shikamaru took a book too, and both of them would stay next to the other reading in silence. But that day it was impossible to him to stay focused in any lecture, so he simply settled himself next to Shikaku and watched the kids playing happily. 

He still hadn’t decided what to do about Neji. Should he try to talk to him? And if he did, what would he say? He had no idea of how to call all those new feelings. He had been with a couple of girls in the past, but with none of them things had get so intense. Maybe it was because he didn’t really liked them. He just felt attracted to them, but inside he had thought that they were a bit silly. Neji was different. He liked the way he thought, and he really enjoyed their conversations. If what happened made them distance away, he would feel terrible. He didn’t wanted to ruin things between them.

He rose his stare and looked at the clouds moving slowly through the sky. It didn’t matter how much time he put in finding a solution, he just couldn’t get it. Maybe he should text him, but again, he didn’t knew how to start.

He was immersed in his thoughts when a known but distant voice called his attention:

-Wait! Don’t run! -it said.

He lowered his head in time to see a little girl running at high speed to where he was. It was Hanabi, who approached to him with a big smile.

-Hi, moon boy! -she screamed, stopping in front of him and his father.

-Hey. -Shikamaru answered with a surprised grin. -What are you doing here?

-Hanabi! -a little annoyed scream reached them before the kid could answer. 

The Nara looked in the direction of the sound, and startled when he saw Neji trotting to where they were. He noticed Shikamaru, and stopped a few meters away from the bench.

-Cousin Neji! Look who I found! -the little girl told the boy with big enthusiasm.

The Hyuuga stared at him, and blushed slightly. Shikamaru met his eyes, and stood up, not knowing what to say.

-You shouldn’t run like that. -Neji said to his little cousin. -You could get lost.

The child looked at her feet with a sorry expression.

-I just wanted to say hi. -she answered, and then lifted her head, noticing Shikamaru’s father. -Look! -she said, pointing at the man. -He’s like an older you!

The young Nara laughed softly, trying to hide his sudden nervous. 

-Yes, he is my father. -he explained.

Shikaku rose his stare from his book and looked at the little girl.

-Hello. -he greeted her. -Who are you, child?

-Her name is Hanabi. -Shikamaru said. -She’s one of my classmates cousin. -At hearing this, Shikaku traveled his eyes from the kid to Neji, seeing him for the first time. -Umm, this is Neji, from School.

The Hyuuga made a step forward and inclined his head respectfully to the man.

-Nice to meet you, boy. -the older Nara said with a half smile.

In that moment, Hanabi took Shikamaru’s hand and started pulling from him.

-Come play with us! -she screamed, giving little jumps.

-Hanabi! -Neji naged her.

He didn’t wanted to reject the kid, but he didn’t feel ready to be with the Hyuuga again either.

-I’d like to, but I have to stay with my father. -he finally answered, hoping that the excuse would work.

-It’s okay. -Shikaku assured. -You can go, I’ll be here.

-Yay!! -the little girl explained, and then started running to the park games, expecting that the older boys would follow her. -Watch me go down the slide!!

Shikamaru looked at Neji, hesitating. If he didn’t go, it would look weird, like there was something strange going on between them. The other boy seemed to think the same thing, because he started turning around slowly, to give the Nara time to follow him. Finally, he walked until they were next to each other, and headed to where Hanabi was.

They didn’t talked for a while. They just stood standing, watching the little kid going up and down the slide once and again. He felt his hands starting to sweat inside his pockets, and his heart hitting his chest with anxiety. The silence was awkward, and neither of them knew what to say. He gave the Hyuuga a side glance, and saw that he was still blushing. He had to do something to make things go back to normal, or they will never be able to be comfortable with each other again. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists, thinking that it was now or never.

-Neji… -he started, and saw the boy looking at the floor shyly. “Neji, what?“, he thought. He didn’t knew how to continue. After longs seconds passed in silence, he clicked his tongue and cursel lowly. -Damn it…

The Hyuuga rose his eyes and looked at him, with his lips pressed with an ashamed expression. So he was feeling just as embarrassed as him. He had to say something, but his tongue felt paralyzed. He decided that the best course of action was to be honest. He shook his head, and begun again.

-I’m sorry, this is very hard…- he said, scratching the back of his head. Then he let his arm fall next to his body, and looked at the ground. -Umm… I’m really, really sorry. I don’t know what happened to me. I just… Well... I don’t know. -He closed his eyes. “So eloquent, genius“, he told himself. That was a very poor explanation. So he sighed, and added: -I’m very ashamed.

After a few seconds, Neji finally answered.

-It’s okay… -he said in an almost inaudible voice. -I don’t know what happened to me either…

Shikamaru opened his eyes, and saw that the boy was looking at his feet with a worried expression. That wasn’t enough. He had to dissipate the awkward thoughts completely to make things right.

-Look. -he continued, decided to fix the situation. -I can’t explain what that was. Honestly, I have no idea. But I don’t want to let that ruin things between us. I mean, we were getting along pretty well, and I kind of liked the idea that we could be friends.

At hearing this, Neji lifted his head and looked at him. He seemed a little calmer, but surprised.

-Friends? -he asked, and thought about it for a few seconds. -I’d never imagine you would want to be my friend.

So freaking cute. Shikamaru realized that the Hyuuga’s self esteem was pretty low, and that he was really modest. He couldn’t help to smile a little.

-Well, -he answered softly. -I’d like that, if you do.

At seeing him smile, Neji opened his mouth with astonishment.

-I… guess. -he replied, smiling a bit as well. He was blushing in a completely different way now.

Shikamaru felt the great load of his worries drifting away. He would never forget what had happened between them, but he would try to not screw things up again.

-Great, let's make it official, then. -he said with a relieved grin. -Neji, would you like to be my friend?

The Hyuuga laughed softly, finally relaxing. It was a very pleasant sound.

-Yes. -he affirmed with a big smile, and Shikamaru felt that everything was right into place now.

They played with Hanabi the rest of the afternoon, laughing and having a great time. It was so good to be comfortable with the Hyuuga again, and the Nara thought that things couldn’t have gone better. When the sun started to came down, they said goodbye. Shikamaru stood by the park games a little longer, watching the two cousins leave. When he turned around to walk to his father, something lying on the ground caught his attention. He looked at it, and realized it was Neji’s inhalator. The boy must have dropped it while they were playing. He took the little thing and put it in his pockets, thinking that now he had a good excuse to stop by the Hyuuga’s house the next day.

  
  


 

**Hi to all! This was chapter four, I hope you like it! Sorry if it’s not too long.**

**I wanted to thanks to all the readers of this story. I've been receiving a lot of love from you lately, and I couldn't be more happy! I'm so excited to see that there are so many people loving this couple, and your comments are so kind and warm that I'm feeling really thankful!**

**Hope you like where this is going. Till next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Neji’s POV**

 

Neji looked at himself in the reflexion of the window that was in front of him. He put one elbow over the desk and supported his head in his hand. It was about seven, and he was in his bedroom, trying to concentrate in his homework, but it was impossible. At all time he kept having flashes of the things that had happened in the last two days. In one hand, Shikamaru’s bare body, hot and hungry, submitting him, and himself, embracing it. There had been nothing he could do. The situation had been too arousing, and the naked image of the Nara made him lose control. On the other, the boy’s silly and cute smile when he had asked: “Neji, would you like to be my friend?“. So kind, so warm. Both memories woke up a different kind of bristle in his skin.

He had never experienced any of those feelings before. Nor the wild physical desire for another person, nor the other thing, the thing he didn’t knew how to call. Whatever it was, it made him want to be with the Nara, listen to him, know him. And the way the boy always talked to him, with that gentle look on his black smart eyes, made him blush only from remembering it. He sighed, thinking that he was going to have a very complicated year.

In that moment, his cellphone rang. For the sound, it was a message in the chat. He lit the screen with the tip of his finger, and stifled a sigh at seeing the name: Shikamaru Nara. Before opening it, he could already read that in simply said “Hey“.

His heart gave a jump. The boy had texted him! Would he want something in particular, or just to talk?. Neji thought a lot his answer, though he finally responded simply “Hi“.

Seconds after, Shikamaru wrote back.

“I think I have something yours“.

The Hyuuga thought for a moment. What did he meant? What could he have?

“What?“, he asked.

As a response, the Nara sent a photo.

“Do you recognize this?“, Shikamaru wrote again.

Of course he did. It was his inhalator. He had realized he didn’t had it the night before, and had totally freaked out. He looked for it in every corner of the house, but he couldn’t found it, so he imagine he must had lost it in the park. His uncle reassured him saying that on first hour of Monday they would go buy another one.

“I’ve been looking for it everywhere! Thank you so much“, he answered.

“Found it in the grass at the park“, the Nara wrote. And after short seconds, he added: “I can take it to you“.

Neji went still for a few seconds. If he said yes, he would be able to see Shikamaru again before School. But he didn’t wanted to make him drive all the way to his house.

“Thanks but that’s not necessary. I don’t want to bother you“.

Less than ten seconds later, the Nara answered: “It’s fine, I don’t mind“.

Neji smiled in his room. Shikamaru was just so nice to him.

“I know you don’t, but it’s a long ride. It’s okay“.

His heart stopped beating with the next message.

“Too bad, cause I’m at your door“.

He froze. He was at his door? So, he was outside the house? Jumping from his seat, he got out of his bedroom and quickly went down the stairs. He practically run to the house door and opened it, to see Shikamaru’s car parked in front of him. The boy was in the driver seat, and smiled at seeing him, waving a hand. He got off the car while Neji approached to him with a surprised expression.

-I can’t believe you drove all the way here. -the Hyuuga said, stopping next to the car.

Shikamaru turned around the vehicle and walked to him.

-I went to buy tome things for my father, and had to pass neer here to return home. -the boy explained.

Through the car’s window, Neji could see a plastic bag in the passenger seat, with the logo type of a pharmacy. The Nara took something from him pocket, and handed it to the older boy.

-Here. -he said, giving him his inhalator.

-Thank you so much, Shikamaru. -Neji told him with a smile. -I’m so relieved to have it back. I owe you one.

-No problem. -the boy answered, smiling too.

They stared at each other for a brief moment, and the Hyuuga thought that the silences with Shikamaru couldn’t be more pleasant. Then, the Nara looked at the sky, which was quickly starting to get dark.

-I should go now. -he said, turning to his car again. But he stopped short after, and put a hand over the vehicles ceiling. -Oh, I almost forget. I brought something for Hanabi.

He opened the back seat door, and Neji looked inside. There was a huge rectangular box, but he couldn’t see the pictures on its sides to know what it was.

-What is that? -he asked, intrigued.

-It’s my telescope. -the boy answered with a pretty proud smile.

-You have a telescope? -the Hyuuga questioned with wide eyes.

Shikamaru nodded.

-I do. -he replied. -I thought I could lend it to Hanabi so she can see the moon and the stars.

Neji was so surprised. That was such a nice and kind gesture. He couldn’t help to give the boy an enormous smile.

-That is so sweet, Shikamaru. Thank you. -he told the Nara. -She will be thrilled.

In that moment, the voice of his uncle sounded behind them.

-I thought I had heard the door opening. -he said, and then looked at Shikamaru. -Hello, boy.

-Hello, Sir. -the kid answered with a grin.

-Look at what Shikamaru found, uncle! -Neji exclaimed, showing his inhalator to the man.

Hiashi made a few steps towards them.

-Oh, that is great! -he affirmed, putting a hand on his nephews shoulder. -Neji was so worried for having lost it. Thank you, kid.

The Nara inclined his head with modesty, showing that it was nothing.

-He also brought his telescope to lend it to Hanabi. -the young Hyuuga added, pointing at the box inside the car.

Hiashi couldn’t hide that he was delighted.

-Really? -he asked. -How nice of you! She’ll be so excited.

-My pleasure. -Shikamaru responded, starting to get the box out of the car.

The sound of fast little feet running in their direction anticipated Hanabi’s arrival, who crossed the door approaching to them with great enthusiasm.

-Hi!! -she greeted, and stopped near them at seeing the big box in the Nara’s hands. -What is that??

The girl’s father leaned a little and told her:

-Neji’s friend brought you a surprise. He is going to let you use his telescope.

The child’s big marvelous eyes shined at hearing that.

-Really?? -she asked, and then jumped and clapped her hands with excitement. -Yay!! We’re going to see the moon!!

Neji caught a glance of the Nara’s happy face at the kid’s thrill.

-Go tell Hinata to open the backyard door. -Hiashi instructed to the little girl, and then straightened to look at Shikamaru. -Would you help us to set it up? I wouldn’t know how to do it.

-Of course, Sir. -the boy answered with a lot of disposition.

After that, Hanabi went back inside running and screaming, followed by her father. The two boys shared a silent smile before entering the house too. They reached the kitchen, where Hanabi was already telling her sister that they were about to see the moon through a telescope. Hinata was starting to prepare dinner, but stopped to go open the backyard door for the child.

-It’s okay, sweetheart, I’ll do it. -Hiashi told his daughter. -I didn’t knew you were cooking already.

The girl welcomed Shikamaru with kindness. It was starting to be usual to have the boy in the house, and no one seemed to mind. Neji was really glad to see that his family enjoyed the Nara’s presence as much as him.

After a few seconds, Hiashi returned to the kitchen.

-Well, all settled. -he said, and then added, looking at Shikamaru. -But I was thinking that even if you mount the telescope for us, I wouldn’t know how to aim it. Why don’t you stay for dinner and help us with that?

Neither of them expected that offer. Neji opened his eyes with surprise.

-Really? -he asked.

-Of course. -the man affirmed. -He could explain to us what we’ll be seeing. What do you say?

Shikamaru was noticeable stunned. He looked at Neji, like searching for a confirmation, and the boy nodded with a smile, encouraging him. Finally, the Nara smiled as well and turned to Hiashi.

-That’d be great, Sir. Thank you very much. -he answered. -I just have to tell my mom. I’m sure she wouldn't mind.

Grabbing the box with one arm, he took his cell phone from out of his pocket and wrote to his mother.

With an expression of satisfaction, the older Hyuuga disappeared with Hanabi through the backyard door.

-I hope you like dinner. -Neji said . -Hinata is making homemade pasta.

Shikamaru opened his eyes wide.

-Astronomy and homemade dinner? -he asked with a grin. -This is like the best night ever!

The Hyuuga laughed, and both boys walked outside the house.

-Wow. -the Nara exclaimed once in the backyard.

They had an enormous park, with a long extension of tender grass and tall trees at the end of it. Hiashi had taken some chairs outside, and was waiting for them next to Hanabi. When Shikamaru put the big box down and kneeled next to it, the little girl started jumping around him with anticipation.

Talking relaxedly, they watched the boy taking the telescope parts out of the box, and starting to set it up. When he finished, Neji was surprised to see that it was pretty big.

-I had imagined it would be smaller. -he commented. -But it’s big.

-That’s because it’s a good telescope. -the Nara answered, tapping the thing with his hand with affection. -The bigger the lens, the longer the distance. -Then he rose his eyes to the sky, which was now completely dark, and stared at the waning crescent. -Well, let’s start with the moon, shall we?

-Yes!!! -Hanabi screamed with excitement.

Shikamaru laughed, and aimed the telescope to the satellite, with a precise coordinate. The little kid approached and had to stand in the tip of her feet to look through the eyepiece. She was marveled with the sight, and cheered with energy.

-It’s so pretty!

She asked questions about the craters, and Shikamaru explained to her that they were due to the impacts of hundreds of meteorites in its surface. Then, he told her how it was believed that the Moon had been created after the impact of a meteorite with the Earth, about 4.5 billion years ago.

She was mind blown. She kept looking at Shikamaru and through the eyepiece one and again. Hiashi and Neji watched them entertained from two chairs, sitting next to the other.

-But why does a thing like the Moon appears just because a big rock hit the earth? -she questioned.

The Nara was kneeling next to her. He smiled and answered:

-That’s because when the big rock hit the earth, a lot of fragments from both of them went out flying in all directions. -He said this mimicking the explosion  with his hands, and then started making them circle the air. -And gravity caught them, reuniting them in one same point until the Moon was formed. -He made a fist.

Hanabi frowned in complete confusion.

-Who’s Gravity? -she asked.

The three older man laughed at her child innocence.

-It’s not a person. It’s a thing. -Shikamaru explained with great humor. -Well, it’s actually a force. You know why when you grab something and let it go in the air it always go to the floor?

The Nara took a little rock from the grass, lift it, and let it fall. It hit the ground in a second.

The kid stared at the rock, and then to Shikamaru.

-Because it’s heavy. -he answered.

The boy smiled with mystery.

-Light things, like feathers for example, or paper, fall down too, and at the same speed as anything, if there is no air moving them. So no, it’s not something about weight. -He narrowed his eyes, dramatically. -There’s an invisible force going on there.

Hanabi let out a surprised gasp, and Neji laughed softly.

-That’s gravity. Which makes little things be attracted to big things. -The Nara continued. -We and all things on Earth are attracted to it because is way bigger than us. The same way the fragments of the Earth and the meteorite started attracting each other. One flew to the biggest, and then others joined until the Moon appeared. And it’s also gravity which keeps the Moon circling around the Earth.

-Whaaat?

Shikamaru brusted a laugh, and settled to explain the rest, clearly enjoying the conversation. He took two little stones from the ground, one significantly bigger than the other.

-Imagine this. -he said, lifting them in front of Hanabi. -You have one pretty big thing in one hand, which is the Earth, and because it’s big, it attracts smaller things, like the Moon. -He made the little stone go around the other. -It’s says that the Moon is constantly falling to the Earth, like the objects fall to the floor here, but the force with which it orbits keep them balanced. Remember what orbiting is? It means circling around a bigger thing. So the Moon doesn’t fall, but it doesn’t go away either, because gravity is pulling from it.

The kid looked at the representation with marveled eyes.

-It’s so crazy! -she screamed.

-It is -the Nara agreed. -Remember what I told you the other day, that Jupiter had sixtyseven moons? But Earth has only one, right?-Hanabi nodded. -Why do you think that is?

She didn’t even had to think about it.

-Because it’s bigger and has more gravity! -she exclaimed.

-Exactly! Well done -the boy congratulated her, and then added. -If we were a little deeper into it, I had to tell you that gravity is actually the effect of space-time curving, but that’s a little more complicated.

She stared at him like he was speaking in chinese, and the Nara laughed again.

-Want to see a nebula? -he asked, moving the telescope.

They spent about an hour looking through the lens and talking about what they saw. Hinata joined them while dinner got ready, and all the family asked questions that Shikamaru responded with great enthusiasm and clarity. It was so evident that he loved speaking of those things. Neji was watching him with his elbows in his knees and his hands supporting his head, thinking that most people in his class had no idea of how passionate the Nara really was. He felt so glad of being able to see it.

When the food was almost in time, Shikamaru offered himself to help set the table inside.

-You don’t have to do that. -Hinata thanked him. -You are the guest.

-Please. -the boy insisted. -It’s the least I can do.

-Actually, -Hiashi interrupted them. -why don’t we take the table here and have dinner outside? The night is warm.

-Yes!! -Hanabi exclaimed. -We haven’t do that in a long time!

So Shikamaru was able to help, lifting the table with Neji and moving it to the backyard. When everything was ready, they seat and begun to eat.

The whole family and the Nara talked relaxedly. Even Hanabi participated with funny comments. Many people came to their house for dinner because of his uncle’s business, but Neji was sure that Shikamaru was the best guest they had ever had.

-Have you already planned what you will study after School? -Hiashi asked the boy at some point, and added with a grin. -I imagine something relating Astronomy.

The Nara smiled, and swallowed Hinata’s pasta to respond.

-I’m not sure yet. Some type of Physic. Perhaps Astrophysics, yes, or maybe I’ll go with Quantum Physics. I don’t know. -he shrugged with a modesty that was hard to believe in someone so smart.

Hiashi nodded, and Shikamaru turned his face to look at Neji while he lifted another amount of food.

-What about you? -he asked. -What are you going to do?

Inside, Neji jolted at the question, but showed a imperturbable attitude. He took a quick glare to his uncle.

-I will continue with the family business. -he affirmed calmly.

Shikamaru rose his eyebrows, swallowing again.

-Really? -he interrogated. -I’d had thought you would keep dancing.

The older boy felt suddenly nervous.

-That is just a hobby. -he answered.

Shikamaru lifted his shoulders.

-Too bad. -he said staring at his plate again, but then looked at Hiashi. -Have you seen him dance, Sir? He’s really good.

Neji didn’t knew if he felt flattered or thrown to the fire. He had never discussed with his uncle the possibility of dancing professionally, and had willingly accepted the business inheritance. He had not idea of what the man thought. Hiashi watched his nephew for a few seconds, and then answered:

-I have, in the past. But not recently.

-You should see him now. He’s pretty awesome. -Shikamaru affirmed, and smiled to Neji.

The boy couldn’t help to blush a little. He smiled softly and lowered his head.

-I will. -Hiashi said with decision, looking at his nephew with affection.

The boy stared at him with surprise, and then smiled back.

Amazing. Shikamaru had just dissipated the tension around a subject he had never dared to touch. Neji couldn’t be more stunned, and thankful. The conversation kept flowing in a very pleasant mood.

When they finished eating, they congratulated Hinata for the great food, and the Nara offered himself again to help washing the dishes.

-Wait, don’t you want dessert first? -the girl asked when he stood up. -I think we have some ice cream left.

Hanabi cheered, and her sister turned to walk towards the kitchen.

In that moment, Shikamaru’s cell phone ranged in his pocket. It was a call. He pulled it out and looked at it.

-Sorry, I have to get this. -he excused himself. -It’s my mom.

Hiashi nodded, and the boy made a few steps in the direction of the tall trees, turning his back to them.

-Hi, mom. -Neji heard him answering. And then, a strange silence came. When he spoke again, the Nara’s voice came out more serious. -Yes… Yes… Right. I’ll be there in about ten. Bye.

He ended the call, and turned around again. His face had changed considerably. The relaxed expression was now noticiably perturbed. He walked to the table again, and looked at Neji.

-I have to go. -he said. -I’m sorry.

The young Hyuuga looked at him, worried.

-What’s wrong?

Shikamaru shook his head, and put his cell phone into his pocket.

-I have to take my father to the hospital. -he answered.

Neji opened his eyes wide, standing up, and Hiashi straightened in his seat.

-Oh God, is he alright? -he asked.

-Yes. -the Nara replied quickly, waving a hand in the air. -He has just decompensated a little. It happens sometimes. But it’s important that I take him fast. -Then he smiled to the older Hyuuga. -Thank you for everything, Sir. I had a great time, really.

After saying goodbye to everybody and thanking Hinata for the food, Neji walked the boy to his car.

-Please, if there’s anything I can do, let me know. -he asked him by the street.

Shikamaru nodded and smiled.

-Thank you. I will, but it’s gonna be fine. Don’t worry. -He made a short pause, and then added. -I really had a good time today. Thanks for that too.

Neji smiled as well. Then, they said goodnight and he watched the boy get in his car. Before he turned it on, the Hyuuga saw his expression became focused. He looked ahead with sudden cold eyes, as if a meticulous calm had activated inside him. It was the face of someone who knew that he had to stay in control to make things work. Neji watched him go away, driving pretty fast. Deep inside, he prayed that everything would be okay.

 

*           *           *

 

Next day, Shikamaru didn’t go to School. He missed all classes, and didn’t appeared at any moment. Neji couldn’t help but to imagine the worst. What if something really serious had happened to the boy’s father? It was possible that he had died? The thought terrorized him, inevitably taking his mind back to the moment of his parents death. To the unbearable sorrow that comes from knowing that you are never going to see a person again. It was the worst pain he had felt, and he didn’t wanted Shikamaru to feel it too.

Uncountable times he took his cell phone and stared at the Nara’s contact, trying to write to him, but not knowing how. He didn’t want to annoy him if he was going through a delicate moment, but at the same time he was really worried. He finally realized that he wouldn’t dare to do it, and decided to just wait until the next day to see if the boy presented at School.

Luckily, he did. When Neji arrived to his classroom on Tuesday, the Nara was calmly sleeping in his seat, with his back against the wall and his legs over his desk.

He looked as usual. Tired, but not that much. Maybe everything was fine. So the Hyuuga decided that he would ask him at the first chance he got.

When he arrived to the cafeteria, he saw Shikamaru approaching to the line that was forming to get the food, and walked fast, but not too much as to not attract attention, and placed himself behind the boy.

-Hi. -he said softly.

The Nara looked over his shoulder, and turned around at seeing him.

-Hey. -he answered with his usual sleepy half smile.

-How are you? -Neji asked, studying his face, but he looked relaxed as always.

-Fine. You? -the taller boy questioned back, and he realized he didn’t knew how to ask what he wanted to know.

-Fine. -he replied, and lowered his head for a moment. Then, he straightened back and added: -How is your father?

Shikamaru blinked slowly, not perturbed at all.

-He’s alright. -he responded. -He had to spend a whole day in the hospital with a serum in his arm. That’s why I didn’t came yesterday, I had to stay with him. But he’s at home now, so all good.

The Nara smiled reassuringly, and Neji felt relieved.

-I’m glad to hear that. -he said honestly, and smiled as well.

They talked until both of them had their food, and then parted ways to join their usual groups of friends.

 

*         *         *

 

**Shikamaru's POV**

 

He was leaning over his desk, supporting his head in his hand and pretending to hear the teacher’s explanation. But his mind was actually far away from there. The last two days had been nice. He had stayed after classes and met with Neji in the rehearsal room, to see him practice. The mood had been calmed and warm, which meant that everything was normal again. And he felt most than relieved about that. During both afternoons, Shikamaru simply lied in his usual pile of sport mattress and watched the Hyuuga dance. Sometimes in silence, sometimes with music. It was a bit hypnotizing. The motion of Neji’s body circling around the room, sliding softly, jumping high and falling to the floor once and again, had something that mesmerized him and made him dizzy. Many times he remembered that same pale small body, wet and hot, pressed against his in the School shower. But he tried hard to block it away. Now that things were going so well, he didn't wanted to screw them.

He couldn’t help but to look in Neji’s direction. The boy was sitting in his place with his back straight, listening to the Professor and taking notes. His dark brown hair was carefully tied with a headband at the end, like always, and it contrasted with the pure white of his shirt. Shikamaru recalled the night he had spent at the Hyuuga’s house, and smiled softly at the memories. He had felt so well and welcome there. In the past years, he had thought that Neji was a little antipathetic, because he only talked with Lee and Tenten. But he was happy to discover that he was actually very kind and nice.

A bump in his elbow from his best friend got him back to the real world.

-Hey, Shikamaru. -Choji whispered to him, stretching his neck to look through the window. -Aren’t those your parents?

The Nara turned his head to look outside, and jolted. His mother and father were slowly walking to the School entrance. His mom was helping his dad, grabbing him by and arm, and the man was using his other hand to support himself in his cane. Shikamaru could see the effort in each step.

What the hell?! Why were his parents there? Was it really necessary to make his father come in that state? He couldn’t have that physical exhaustion. So there had to be an important reason. Could it be because of the IQ test? Asuma had said that the results would be ready in about a week, so it was possible.

He felt suddenly nervous. Of course, he prefered that to be the case, and not something actually bad, like his constant naps or his habit of breaking into closed places. But at the same time, he wasn’t comfortable at having people judging his intelligence. He wasn’t a proud person. If he was gifted in some way, he didn’t need to know.

Minutes passed, during which he completely forgot about the class, Neji, and everything. He was just too anxious. When someone knocked at the classroom’s door, he nailed his fingers to his desk. The smiley face of Asuma appeared, to ask permission to take Shikamaru out.

So that was it. The results must have arrived. Damn it. He really didn’t want to know. If they were good, he would feel overwhelmed. And if they were bad, he would feel stupid, and very bad with Asuma. If he had could, he would’ve run away from there. But instead, he stood up and followed his Professor through the door.

They walked the empty halls to the Principal’s office.

-So? -Shikamaru asked in a weak tone. -Good news or what?

The tall man smiled mysteriously.

-Oh, you’re about to find out. -he answered.

They reached their destination. Inside the room, he found his parents sitting in two chairs, and Principal Sarutobi talking to them from behind his desk. When they entered, the man smiled welcomingly and gestured to both of them to sit as well. Shikamaru did so, and placed himself next to his father, who studied his face, probably searching for a hint of what was going on.

-All right, now that we are all here, I got important news to share. -the Principal said. -Mr. and Mrs. Nara, you should know that Professor Asuma, for many reasons, thinks your son’s intelligence is above the ordinary, and he presented this thought to me last week. So we talked about it, and decided to make Shikamaru take an IQ test.

-I though not any student could take that test. -Shikaku commented.

-All schools can request the test if they have an outstanding student. -the man explained. -And with Shikamaru’s grades, it wasn’t hard to get an approbation.

His parents smiled at him proudly at hearing about his notes, and he looked down, embarrassed.

-The case is, he took the test last Friday. -the Principal continued. -The results have arrived today, and they are honestly impressive.

He grabbed a paper from over his desk and handed it to Shikaku. The man rose his hand slowly, and Shikamaru saw it shaking slightly. It was starting to get harder for him to move his arms too. Finally, he took the paper and read it with his wife. After a few seconds, he exclaimed:

-178?!

The young Nara opened his eyes wide, and approached to read as well. There were a lot of observations, and then a big number printed in a black rectangle. 178. But that was insane! He knew that the average IQ was of about 90 points. That cypher was ridiculously high.

-That’s right! -Asuma confirmed with a huge smile. -He completely exceeded our expectations. He’s not only smart, he’s a lot more that that. He could be a genius!

The Professor was noticeably happy. He slapped Shikamaru’s back with his hand as a congratulation. At the same time, his parents were stunned. They kept looking at the paper and at his son, not understanding yet. Finally, they hugged him and said they were very proud of him.

“Proud of what?“, the boy thought. He hadn’t done anything, actually. He was the same as ever, but now a paper said that he was amazingly smart. He wasn’t sure if he agreed with that number. To be a genius was to be like Einstein, or Newton, or Feynman. And he wasn’t like those men. He was just a boy who liked maths.

The Principal was very excited. He probably knew he was lucky of having him at his School.

-We will announce it to all, students and teachers. -he declared. -This is a wonderful thing and we have to comunitate the good news. Everyone in this School will know your name, boy.

Shikamaru felt a chill run down his spine. He didn’t wanted that. He had never liked to be the center of attention. It made him feel exposed. But the man leaved the office before he was able to protest. So the boy turned to his teacher.

-Um, Sir… -he said, hesitating. -This sounds like too much. Couldn't you just say that some student got a high IQ, but not say it was me?

Asuma watched him, arching and eyebrow.

-What’s wrong, kid? -he asked. -You don’t want to be known as the smartest person in the School?

Shikamaru shook his head.

-Honestly, no. -he answered. -I doubt I’ll enjoy so much attention.

The man thought for a moment, and then nodded.

-Okay, I respect that. You’re smart and modest, which is great. I’ll go talk with the Principal about it. -he agreed. -But change that face, for God’s sake! This is a good thing!

He stayed in the office, talking to his parents. They admitted they weren’t surprised, because he had proven to be very smart during his whole life.

-I’m sorry they made you came, dad. -he told his father, while he helped him stand up.

-Don’t say that, boy. -the man answered to him. -I’m happy to share this with you.

He caressed Shikamaru’s head with affection, and the three of them walked outside the room. There, another teacher took them to the auditorium, where he could see all the students seated and waiting. Shit, they had reunited everybody. There was a lot of people there, and he felt more anxious.

They stopped near the scenario, were the Principal was starting to speak. Shikamaru tried to hide behind his dad, expecting that no one would see him. He didn’t believe in God, but anyway he prayed that Asuma had convinced the director from not saying his name. A foolish hope, he learnt a minute after, when Mr. Sarutobi spoke the words “Shikamaru Nara“, and gestured to him to go join him.

Applauses sounded. He froze. The only thing he could do was to stare at the Principal with blank eyes. He didn’t want to be known for all the School for being the gifted kid. He didn’t wanted to be know for all the School for nothing! He just wanted to finish his studies in a discrete way and start again in a better environment, like an University. That was the only kind of place were he would be able to concentrate in the things that he care about. There his mind could be considered a good thing. But in School, he would only have a big pile of bullies at his back until he got graduated.

At seeing that he had took just to much time to move, his father gave him a little bump with his elbow. He startled, and then his mother pushed him forward, whispering encouraging words. He started walking, and climbed the stairs like a robot. The Principal took him by the shoulder, and extended a hand to the public, like showing his big discovery to them. The applauses sounded louder. Because of the bright light coming from the reflectors, he couldn't see almost anything. His sight reached only the first line of seats, where the teachers were. He saw Mrs. Takenaka clapping her hands with an angry and annoyed face, and that made him feel a little better. He tried not to think about the people he knew among the students and in how their reactions would be.

-Let’s invite the proud parents to join us in this great moment! -Mr. Sarutobi said, and he felt his sense of alert starting to vibrate.

What? His father couldn’t climbed up a stair. Just a few steps demanded a lot of effort from him, and the scenario’s stair had like seven of them. He looked at his dad, expecting that he would find a way to decline the invitation, but instead, the man took his cane strongly and started walking, with his other arm firmly grabbed by his wife. Shikamaru watched him struggle with his partially slept legs, breathing harder with every movement. When the man reached the second step, he just couldn’t stopped himself, and freed his shoulder from the Principal’s grasp to go help his father. He put and arm around Shikaku’s waist, and took him all the way up, doing most of the force. When the three of them reached the Principal, the man shook hands with his parents, driving another round of applauses, and then they went down in the same way, slowly and carefully, respecting his dad rhythm so he wouldn’t get tired.

When the announcement finished, everybody returned to class. His parents said goodbye, and his mother took the car keys to drive his father home and then return to work. That meant that day he would have to walk to his house, because no bus reached his address. He walked slowly to his classroom, thinking about what had just happened. It had been awkward that everyone had seen his father fighting to make a step. Not because they would be sorry for him or anything like that. He didn’t care about what people could think of him, but it was like showing to the whole School a very personal thing, maybe his most personal thing in the world: that his father was ill. He was a reserved person, and having others knowing stuff about him didn’t pleased him. The only people that was aware of his dad’s state were Ino and Choji, because their parents were friends with his, and Neji. That was most than enough for him.

During the rest of the day, his classmates congratulated him and made funny comments regarding his completely unexpected smartness. He only smiled lazily and kept silence. When they were free to leave, he headed to the rehearsal room, expecting to find Neji. He was intrigued about what the Hyuuga would think. That was an opinion he wouldn’t mind to hear.

But nothing warned him about the troubles he was going to find in the way.

He realized something was happening when his shoulder hit a wall, impulsed by a sudden push. Pain exploited in his body, and he looked to his side to see from where it had came.

-Congratulations, brainiac. -the voice of Nikko Hashimoto said with irony. The huge boy  was standing in the middle of the hall, with his usual two gorillas at his back, and the three of them were staring at Shikamaru with evil eyes. -Nobody can believe it yet, but it looks like you’re the smartest person that has ever put a foot in this School.

The Nara straightened, trying to keep his relaxed attitude.

-Thanks, Hashimoto. -he answered, caressing his bumped arm. -How considerate of you.

The older boy laughed maliciously.

-I hope this doesn’t mean you’re gonna start thinking you are better than us, and bragg that brain of yours around. -he continued.

-I wouldn’t do that. -Shikamaru replied calmly, not wanting a confrontation, but decided to not humiliate himself either.

-Oh, I know. -Nikko spat back. -But just in case, we want to make sure.

He made a few steps forward, clenching his knuckles until they sounded.

Okay, so they were definitley there to bit him up. But that was absurd! They already messed with him just for being a normal student, instead of a prehistoric beast like them. And now they were going to add _nerd_ to the reason. That was such a stupid way of thinking, and he couldn’t tolerate it. Besides, he was about to get his ass kicked anyway, so why not suffering it with dignity?

-Wait. -he said, extending his palm in front of Nikko with a sharp movement. His sudden change of attitude made the boy stop. -So you’re gonna hit me because I’m smarter than you? -He rose an eyebrow, as if he wasn’t understanding. -You know that’s, like, a confirmation of your own stupidity, right? It’s like screaming “Hey, I’m and idiot, the only thing I can do is beat people up because I’m brainless“.

Hashimoto went red from anger in a minute. Very few people dared to make fun of him, specially when they were alone and outnumbered.

-You’re going to regret saying that. -he whispered, and then threw the first punch to his target’s face.

But Shikamaru didn’t regretted it. Not when Nikko’s knuckles hurted his cheek, not with the rest of the bit up. The three bullies had no mercy with him, and they hit him until he wasn’t able to stay up anymore. They left him in the floor, with his back against a wall, bleeding from his nose and with a deep cut under an eye.

He stood there for a few minutes, thinking that he should get up and clean himself, but feeling just too much pain. He closed his eyes, when he heard the sound of fast steps running towards him.

-God, Shikamaru! -it was Neji’s alarmed voice. The Nara opened his eyes to see the boy fall to his knees next to him. -What happened?

-Don’t wanna guess? -he answered in a raspy tone. -Hashimoto and his idiots.

-Those assholes. -the Hyuuga whispered, and then put a hand on his arm. -I’ll help you. Does it hurt?

The contact made his skin bristle with electricity. He felt it clearly despite the pain. It was so strange, and he remembered the two previous moments in which he had felt something similar. One was when he had kissed Neji in the deposit. The other, when he had lost his mind in the School's showers. In both occasions, he had suddenly stopped thinking about the fear of being caught. And a feeling like that one was hard to ignore. Now, the effect of the Hyuuga's touch through his shirt made him completely forget about the intense ache in his body. So that unknown feeling could silence both fear and physical pain on him. That was really a lot, and he didn't knew what it meant. He shook his head, remembering that he had to answer.

-Not that much. -he replied.

Neji assisted him to get on his feet. He made a step, but staggered, because he had hurt one of his knees at falling to the floor. The older boy put and arm around his waist, keeping him from falling again, and Shikamaru grabbed himself to his small shoulder. His palm sent waves of heat through his veins. The sides of theirs bodies touched, and he tried hard to control his expression and not react to it.

-Let’s get you clean. -Neji said to him, while he started directing the younger boy through the hall.

They got to the men bathroom, walking slowly. The Hyuuga went straight to one of the cubicles to grab some toilet paper. Shikamaru supported the lowest part of his back against a lavatory, and sighed. Seconds later, Naji came back and turned on the faucet next to him. He wet the paper a little, and then turned to the Nara, lifting an arm towards his face. He carefully cleaned the blood on his cheek and under his nose.

Shikamaru let him do, calmly. To avoid eye contact, he lowered his stare to the knot of the Hyuuga’s tie, and waited patiently. They were close. Very close. But the moments wasn’t awkward. After all, they had been in more intimate situations before. He caught the scent of Neji’s hair, and felt a tickle in his brain.

-Congratulations on being a genius, by the way. -the older boy said after a while. -It’s a very big thing.

Right, the IQ shit. He let out an exhalation from his nose.

-It’s not. -he answered. -And that act definitely wasn’t necessary. I felt like a freak from a weirdos show.

-Don’t say that. -Neji replied, wetting the paper again and returning to clean his face. -Your parents looked happy.

That words took him to that tense moment, in which he had seen his father struggle with the scenario stairs. So weak, so different to the man he had been just a year ago. He wondered something that had already crossed his mind that day, and hesitated before rising his head and saying:

-Can I ask you something? But you have to be honest, no matter the answer.

Neji stopped rubbing his cheek and looked at him.

-Of course. -he responded.

Shikamaru swallowed, and lowered his eyes again. It was a hard thing for him to ask that, but he wanted to know, and there was no other person with which he would dare.

-Was my father state today… -he started questioning. -Too obvious?

The Hyuuga took a few seconds to respond, so he met his stare.

-No. -he finally answered.

-Tell me the truth. -Shikamaru asked.

Neji stared at him for a few seconds, and then added:

-It’s the truth. I mean, yes, you could see that he had troubles walking because you came down to help him. But people probably interpreted that he has broke a leg or something like that. -he made a short silence. -Why?

The Nara shook his head, but said nothing and diverted his eyes again. He felt Neji studying his face for a moment, before continuing:

-Does it worries you that people know?

An understandable question.

-No. -Shikamaru replied. -It doesn’t. I just don’t like having that much people knowing something so private about me. You are among the very few persons that knows.

The Hyuuga went silent for a short time, so he rose his head up to look at him. The boy was smiling tenderly, and he inclined his head a little, reassuringly.

-Well don’t worry. -he said. -I’m sure no one noticed it.

Shikamaru just watched him. Neji was such a nice guy, after all. Any impressions he could have about the boy from before that year were wrong. He was kind and gentle. And sweet. So sweet. He finally smiled as well.

-C’mon. -he said, straightening up. -Let’s get out of here.

They left the School walking slowly. Shikamaru limped from time to time, and he realized that the Hyuuga was monitoring his state at all moment. He felt, somehow, flattered. His mother had took the car, and no bus reached his house, so he had to walk home. Neji suggested that they both took the bus to his house, and he could walk from them. But they didn’t had enough money for two tickets. Kindly, the older boy offered to accompany Shikamaru by foot.

-That’s not necessary. -the Nara told tim. -Take the bus, it’s a too long way to make two people suffer it.

-It’s not that far. I’ve walked to my house many times. -Neji answered with a grin. -It's okay. Let’s go.

They took the path that surrounded the river. Shikamaru stared at the sky with his hands in his pockets. The day was still too bright, so it was impossible to see the stars yet. But soon the sunset would start. Probably when they reached the Hyuuga’s house.

-I guess you’d have great plans for yourself, now that you are a genius. -Neji commented at one point. -You could surely be accepted at any University you want.

Shikamaru shrugged.

-I’m actually the same person that I was before that test. -he replied. -With the difference that now hundreds of people know I’m good at thinking. Nothing has changed. But now that you say that, what about you? Do you really want to work in your family business after School?

Neji doubted a lot before answering.

-Well, not that much. But I have never discussed it with my uncle. It was like an unspoken agreement that I would take my father’s place someday.

The younger boy arched an eyebrow, not following.

-“Your father’s place“? -he asked. -What do you mean?

Neji let out a soft exaltation.

-My father and my uncle founded the publishing house. -he explained. -It’s called Hyuuga Brothers. When my parents died, my uncle took care of the business alone. And he expects that some day I will help him with it, making it my work.

Shikamaru thought for a moment.

-You shouldn't be forced to do something you don’t want to. -he said. -That’s an awful way of living. What would you really like to do?

He caught a little bit of embarrassment in Neji’s expression.

-I guess,... -he started. -I’d like to keep dancing. Maybe trying out for a dancing company. Or teaching. But I don’t know, I doubt my uncle would find it convincing.

-Don’t be that pessimistic. -the Nara insisted kindly. -I bet that if he sees you dancing, he will realize it’s what you have to do.

Neji looked at him surprised, and then blushed softly again. The hint of pink was barely there, but Shikamaru could see it perfectly over the pale cheeks. The Hyuuga returned his stare to the front, and responded with a shy smile:

-Maybe. I don’t know… -he made a short silence. -There’s the audition for Art Day in a few months.

Art Day. One of the School’s stupid intents to pretend to be a fun place. Every year, one student was selected to represent one branch of Arts, so there was someone who danced, someone who singed, someone who played an instrument, and so on. He had always thought it was a ridiculous thing, mostly because he hated the cheap short films and the clumsy plays performed by generally untalented kids. But just from time to time, there was something interesting.

-Are you trying out for dancing? -the Nara asked.

-I do every year. -Neji answer honestly. -But they always choose Ami Hikko.

-Who? -Shikamaru questioned.

-It’s a girl from another class. I guess they like her because she is so pretty and talented, and a girl. Boys aren’t taken seriously in School dancing.

-Oh, I remember now. -the younger boy said, recalling previous Art’s Days. -I’ve seen her. But she’s not that pretty. Or talented.

Neji looked at him, surprised.

-You think? -he questioned.

-Sure. You are way better than her. -the Nara affirmed with conviction.

The older boy shook his head.

-Thank you for saying that, but she is. -he replied. -She has great technique.

-So what? -Shikamaru responded. -You do too. And besides, dancing is not only about technique, right? I mean, I’m not an expert, but when I see you dancing, I feel something. When I see her, she doesn't transmit anything to me.

He said this with absolut honesty, because that was what he really thought. Neji’s face reacted reflecting surprise and embarrassment again, but he smiled, while he blushed once more.

-Thank you, Shikamaru. -he answered timidly. -It’s very nice to hear that.

Without noticing, they had arrived to the Hyuuga’s house. They stopped at the big iron gate, which started opening slowly.

-You should try out again. -he encouraged his classmate. -And be so freaking awesome that they can’t not choose you.

Neji gave him an enormous smile, and nodded, laughing softly. That happy and relaxed sound spun on his ears and resonated in his brain.

-I’ll try. -the older boy assured.

-And your uncle should see it. -Shikamaru added. -I bet you you’re gonna blow his mind.

The Hyuuga laughed again, but this time he noted a hint of nervousness. He lowered his eyes to the floor for a moment.

-Maybe… -he almost whispered.

Shikamaru understood it. He was scared, of course. He was worried about what his uncle might think about him if he said he wanted to be a dancer, instead of following his father’s path. But Neji was such a beautiful creature, he had to be free. Besides, he looked a millionth times more lovely when he was dancing. He wanted to say something. Something that reached the boy. He didn’t even tried to control his body when he made a step forward and took one of the Hyuuga’s hands with one of his.

Neji didn’t resisted, and looked at their touching fingers. The silky surface of his pale skin send vibrations through him. Shikamaru squeezed softly, and said, in the most tender way he had used in his life:

-He’s going to love it, trust me. -he smiled, and searched for the Hyuuga’s eyes. -You can do it.

The older boy met his stare, and his big dusty eyes sparkled with the red light of sunset. He kept silent for a second, stunned. But finally, he smiled too, and let out a light laugh.

-Thank you, Shikamaru. -he said, and then lowered his head, to look at their joined hands. -You are very nice to me.

The Nara looked down too, and softly caressed Neji’s hand with his thumb. It was an inevitable action. He had to do it. And the Hyuuga didn’t mind it at all. He repeated this slow stroke for a little while, and they just stood there in silence, being washed by the sunset rays. Then, inch by inch, the older boy’s hand traveled to his fingers, and he went to meet them immediately. They interlaced them, and squeezed smoothly at the same time. Seconds passed, and Shikamaru felt like there was nothing he could say that could explaine the situation better than that gesture. Just holding hands was so damn intense with Neji.

After eternal seconds, he decided he prefered to go with that pleasant feeling, and prevent from staying and screwing up everything, so he caressed the Hyuuga’s fingers with his thumb once more to call his attention. Neji looked up, and his eyes absorbed him. They were like fire portals to who knew where . They stood in silence for a little longer, and he thought that he had never looked at nobody so directly in the eyes for that long. Thinking that is was one more topic to add to the thingS the Hyuuga inexplicably did on him, he smiled.

-Goodnight, Neji. -he said in a soft murmur.

Blinking slowly, the older boy smiled as well.

-Goodnight, Shikamaru. -he answered.

After admiring those hypnotizing eyes for a few more seconds, the Nara moved back, slowly letting go Neji’s hand. He made a few steps walking backwards, and then turned around. He made the whole path to his house feeling his hand tickling inside his pocket.

  
  


**Hi to everyone! Thank you for waiting and sorry so much for the delay!!**

**I had a lot of troubles to finish writing this chapter. I've started to work again and I suddenly had less time to continue. I'm so sorry for that.**

**Hope you're still liking this story, thank you endearing for your kind comments!**

**Love to all!**


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